Shifting Tides: A tale of healing by the sea
by crowskisses
Summary: The Second Order is having a hard enough time fighting and when the Malfoy Manor escapees arrive at Shell Cottage. Nobody could predict the chain of events it would set off to help win a war. Nobody could predict the fires it would awaken in Ginny and Muriel, the irrevocable relationship shifts between the trio, or just how far people will go for friendship and love. B/H
1. Arrivals

Title: Shifting Tides: A tale of healing by the sea

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I own none of JK's characters, I'm just an insomniac who writes.

Extended Summary: Bill Weasley, and the rest of the Order, really had no inkling of what to expect when the escapees of Malfoy Manor suddenly started appearing at Shell Cottage. Told mainly from the viewpoints of various Weasley siblings as we explore what it means to handle missions for the Order, bring laughter to dark times, how hard healing can be and how far friends and family are willing to go to try anyway. Oh, and why it takes more than one person to win a war. Expect to hear about all sorts of Weasley sibling adventures!

Warnings: Non-DH compliant for large chunks of the book. Some characters may seem OOC at times, but even the twins had to stop letting things go in one ear and out the rest once they were down to only three ears. The lightness comes in more and more as the story goes on, so at least give it a go!

A/N: I always wondered how JK would have written the post-capture Malfoy Manor part of the book if it was aimed at an adult audience (and those inferences made in the book) and not page restricted, this is an exploration of that concept.

 **A/N June 2018: Shifting Tides will be coming down soon, so jump in at your own risk.**

 **Arrivals:**

Bill stirred a lump of sugar into his tea, setting aside the rune translation he was working on to glance at the clock to see just how late it had gotten at Shell Cottage. Late enough that none of the Order would be stopping by the safehouse he was secret-keeper of, the house he'd bought when he'd thought Fleur would be there with him. Instead, she was in continental Europe trying to convince the Veela populations to not join Voldemort's ranks this time. She'd gone on her mission after the horrible aftermath of his attack, but with the tacit understanding she wouldn't be returning to Bill and there would be no wedding. It hadn't hurt as badly as it should have, for the most part she'd left his heart as easily as she'd left Britain. Instead he'd spent the summer at the Burrow staring at another girl, a very off limits girl, wondering why he always had to pick the hardest road and knowing she was out there somewhere on an even harder journey. He pushed those thoughts away as he'd done so many times before when they crept in while he was manning this lonely safehouse and listening to the winds howl against the cliffs.

He pulled the translation back towards himself in some vain attempt at a distraction, pushing the tea away onto one of the cozies Tonks had left in her last mission here, her maternal nesting instincts kicking in wherever she was stationed. They all left traces after their locational stays: the faint smell of gunpowder that followed the twins, a clean house and made beds courtesy of his mother, the cup of tea Kingsley inevitably left as he rushed to work, the missing silverware if Mundungus had been there last. He wondered what his marker was, he certainly seemed to always need more toothbrushes. It varied and was in a way comforting to catch the traces of their group that moved in shadow under the darkness, always in defiance. The runes were simple enough, but it was the sequence they'd been written in, which was the puzzle he'd been asked to solve. Why that order? Why this combination?

The distinct loud crack of someone's arrival was heard, causing Bill to immediately abandon his work and go sprinting to see what news and which Order member it was, a family in need of shelter or an emergency mission Instead, he found a very weak, but recognizable, Mr. Ollivander being supported by two young adults. One of them opened his mouth to speak, but Bill cut him off. Shelter then. "Take him inside. Are there others coming?"

"Harry, Ron and Hermione are still there. Malfoy Manor." The boy's voice shook slightly, information added by the dreamy blonde who looked so very young, "And a goblin and the very brave house elf, he's going to get them here too. The Manor was terrible."

Bill's insides froze at the first three names, and was glad he already had his wand out. "Inside now."

He concentrated, summoning his patronus. "Notify the Order. Somebody stole my lemon drops. Healers needed at the House by the Sea."

His patronus disappeared, just as another crack sounded and there was Ron, holding up a bloody, barely conscious Hermione who seemed to be weakly struggling in his grip. Bill reached out for her, pulling her from his brother's clenching arms in an automatic gesture. Ron's eyes were wide with fear, showing white around the edges like a spooked horse as he looked around wildly for someone else, then back to Hermione. Bill's voice was curt. "Harry?"

"He should be-" Ron started to grind out when the final group appeared on Bill's once quiet beach. Harry unharmed, but yelling for help in a far too broken tone. Bill looked at his extremely pale younger brother and commanded, "Go."

The young black man was also running that way, but a smell from the girl Bill was supporting had just hit his nostrils that made his stomach clench in horror. She looked up at him, her eyes sliding into focus for a moment before she passed out completely and he lifted her into an easier position to carry. It was harder this time to summon his patronus, harder to recall a memory happy enough to overcome this, but the not terribly great code the Order used out of respect was still drilled in. His voice sounded hollow to his own ears. "Notify the Order. Found my candy, it seems I'd sat on them and cracked some of my favorites."

Harder yet to summon a third patronus with Harry's hollow noises of grief echoing on the cliffs, Bill looked at his somber and busy husky patronus; not fully a wolf, but so much more than just a dog. He made a move to stroke him in comfort, to assure him his job was done for the night after this last request. "Only to Remus, ok? Moony requested urgently at the House by the Sea."

He lifted Hermione more firmly into his arms as dual cracks of displaced air showed the twins, each with one of the stocked healing kits the Order kept prepared, indicating the message had been received and promptly acted upon. He directed George towards the group clustered around Harry and gestured for Fred to follow him, no laughter lurking in his eyes tonight. Fred gave a backwards glance at his twin as if to make sure it was safe, his voice clipped. "What happened?"

"I have no idea, but Mr. Ollivander looks to be in bad shape as does the blonde girl. I'll take care of Hermione for now, the house potion stock is in the first closet." With the information dispersed in a succinct fashion, Bill carried her up the stairs and into his room grabbing some stock potions as he went. He laid her bloody, half-starved, twitching form on the bed and wondered just how much the kids had been through and how much more was to come. He pushed it away, breathing back into handling what he could at the moment. He'd find the answers later, once this crisis was handled and wounds healed. He set to work mechanically, curse breaking and the requisite healer training that came with such a job kicking in. A short _Scourgify,_ a calming draught forced down her unconscious throat, stroking the muscles of her esophagus to make her swallow. A short diagnostic test which made him frown and prioritize, first would be pulling all of the chunks of shattered glass from her to stem the blood flow. What the bloody hell had happened to her, to them? The thought drifted in and was just as quickly pushed out: she clearly wasn't in any state to answer. He said the required spell and watched as it worked and glass pushed out of her skin with small pops, as he heard the pounding footsteps on the stairs, Ron's frantic and hoarse voice echoing. "Hermione?!"

The loud pop of a particularly large chunk of glass disengaged out of her skin, blocking his hearing for a moment. Fred's calmer and more soothing voice carrying, another tiny pop, though it sounded as if Fred was physically blocking Ron. "She's with Bill, Ron. Calm down, he's checking her now."

Bill's mind abruptly started ignoring the small pops of a working spell and focused in on what was happening outside this room. Another small sound of restraint, Ron's voice again, desperate. "I have to see her, she…she.." Desperation coated the pleading, broken confession, "The screams we could hear."

The voice of the dreamy girl floated through the walls, "Yes, they were quite horrible, weren't they? But Harry needs you right now, Ron." A pause, as more heavy footsteps were heard, "Oh hello, Professor Lupin."

Remus Lupin's voice was polite, tension buried beneath the calm words, "Quite right, Luna. Ron do go help Harry and I'll check on how Hermione is doing."

There was a sound that indicated Fred had released Ron and Bill could imagine the looks passing between his prankster brother and Remus, that said everything as Ron's distinct and familiar stomp went downwards. Remus' voice floated back up the stairs, "Miss Lovegood, will you do me a great favor by making sure everyone has some of this chocolate? It will help a great deal."

"Of course, Professor. Chocolate is known to keep-"

Fred's voice, tense but lined with amusement. "Luna, after that do you mind starting a meal? It looks like everyone could use a bite." He paused, his voice losing all traces of his previous humor. "Then please summon a house elf named Winky from Hogwarts, if that's even possible. She and Dobby…"

Remus picked up where Fred's voice had faltered into silence, "-were very close and I believe she'd like to be here to help."

Thank Merlin, Bill thought, before looking back down at his bloody patient and realizing her eyes were wide open. He'd spent a lot of time with Hermione, but wouldn't claim he knew her well enough to tell if this wide open stare was one of pure shock or one of someone who was taking everything in and trying to process it. He kept his voice gentle, "Hermione, it's Bill Weasley. Ron's older brother," a tiny reaction, "He and Harry are safe and unharmed."

A small bit of tension seemed to leave her at that statement, though it made her muscles twitch, her voice almost a hoarse scream, but resolute and sounding rote. "It's a fake."

Bill wasn't quite sure what to make of that statement or her comprehension of her surroundings and somewhere in his chest gave a violent jerk at seeing her like this. He shoved it away, now was not the time. Ultimately, it didn't matter as her eyes shut tightly again as she twitched and one of her limbs flailed. The door eased open and Remus Lupin stood there, his nostrils flared and Bill knew he could smell what Bill had: Fenrir Greyback on the girl. Bill looked at the rage on Remus' face for a moment and made a gesture indicating he didn't know what had happened and in her current bloody, filthy state there was no telling why they could smell that bastard's scent. Remus calmed and approached the bed, ignoring the bloody chunks of glass, his voice soft. "Miss Granger? I'd like to help take a look at your….injuries." She didn't respond and there was another pop, a small piece of bloody glass flying from her scalp. Remus tried again, "Hermione?"

One eye then the other popped open, chapped lips opening in a small 'oh'. She looked from him to Bill and a flare of steeliness came into her eyes as if she was debating if they were actually real. Her voice was hoarse and hard to hear, but curiously dead all the same. "Bellatrix got to play with the Mudblood, you see?"

Well no, Bill really didn't see, but he nodded all the same, with a sick lurch in his stomach at the possibilities running through his mind of a combination of Bellatrix and Fenrir and the screams Ron had mentioned. He glanced at Remus and was about to ask another question when there were more crashing noises from below. "Go! I'll stay here. Try and figure out what the bloody hell happened."

Bill turned back to Hermione, forcing himself to speak gently, despite the growing rage. From the twitching and Bellatrix's involvement he at least knew she'd had one Unforgivable curse used on her more than once. All too common in patients the Order was treating these days. He pulled a potion from the side table, handing it to her and speaking while he helped her choke it down. Frustrated at how little the basic physical diagnostic test he'd run had told him, he'd always been terrible at healing spells. "You're going to need some healing and potions. I'll need to clean the wounds, can you tell me where it hurts the worst? Do you understand?"

Those fathomless brown eyes were on him again after watching her former Professor leave the room at a run, she was refusing to answer, maybe refusing to catalog her own injuries. "Bath."

That Bill could do, it would be gentler than some of the other antiseptic methods and help get her less filthy. There was no way she'd be able to properly undress and bathe herself in her current state though. "I'll pull it now, would you like me to call Luna?"

She looked at him blankly as if she didn't recognize the name, before trying and failing to slowly sit up on her bloody forearm and she dropped back down to the bed. Another spark and she answered, "Nobody sees."

Something inside Bill clenched, how many times had he felt that way lying injured in the Hogwarts infirmary and after with all of his scars? That nobody should see him in that state? He stilled her second attempt at movement, "Let me start the water and then I'll cast privacy charms for you so Luna can help, ok? At least with your hair?" She frowned and he made another offer, "Or Winky, the house elf?"

She shook her head resolutely and he shoved a pain potion and another calming draught at her, forcing her to drink it, before going into the bathroom to run the bath. He started soothing bubbles, poured anti-scarring potions, ones for muscle repair and nerve damage into it at random. Later, he'd never quite remember all of the potions that went into the bubbly water or whether they were even effective topically, but would recall over the sound of tub filling he could hear the rhythmic sounds of spades hitting dirt in his garden and took a moment to rub his own scarred face in the mirror. He'd been an older brother all his life, Head Boy, a curse breaker and a member of the Order and handled so many critical situations he'd lost count, but never one quite like this. Never one quite so important and so unexpected as his baby brother, this broken girl, and the other most wanted people in Britain popping by with an entourage of creatures, bodies and prisoners.

In the end, she was more stubborn than even Ron had described and with privacy charms on her, averted eyes and gentle hands he managed to get her into the bath, despite the fact privacy didn't seem to matter all that much to her at the moment. With an even softer touch and some mild spells, he helped the dazed girl get clean, falling into a monologue to distract her and himself of just how red the bubbles in the tub were becoming. "I heard my brother was terrible at using the telephone when he tried to call Harry to invite him to the Burrow, but there's quite a good reason for it." He gently cleaned her forearm manually, noting the word and how she trembled and flinched and kept talking, "Charlie's best friend at Hogwarts, one of his roomers, wasn't from a magical family and he'd often go over on sleepaways during breaks and watch muggle television. He got rather obsessed with something called infomercials for a time, I understand they're extremely long ads for silly things that rarely work as intended. Anyway, Charlie wanted all of the products, but we didn't have a phone to call and order them. Plus, we were underage and Mum was threatening to break our wands herself if we stepped a toe out of line again. So, he nicked Dad's wand one night. He'd seen this spell from one of Mum's Witch Weekly papers to make a wand act like a phone so Muggleborns-" She shuddered at the word, quivering as he shampooed her hair and shoved her forearm deeper into the water.

Resolutely he carried on, it was best to know what would and wouldn't set someone off from a traumatic event and he'd gotten her mostly clean already. "-Could talk to their family and friends with ease. Charlie was so determined to get this thing he'd seen, thinking it was absolutely necessary for his continued existence, that we snuck down to the twins' room with Dad's wand." He rinsed her hair twice with water from his wand before continuing on with conditioner, still not sure he'd gotten it completely clean, but it at least it wasn't bloody and filled with glass anymore. There would be time for more baths later. "It was the best place for harmless mischief, for Charlie and I anyway, we could always say we were making sure they weren't up to something. So, Charlie tried this spell and somehow mucks it up that so instead of calling the number Dad's wand _became_ the number of all of the muggle TV ads on the network."

He gently added more conditioner to a tangle he was trying to work out of her hair and felt like she might have smiled slightly, "So Dad's wand is buzzing and ringing like crazy for days with people trying to buy muggle TV products like egg cookers and self threading needles and they're all yelling at him because he has no idea what's going on or how to get them what they want. Mum's going mental over how he's taken his muggle gadget obsession too far and that he's surely going to get sacked from the Ministry and…." Bill chuckled as the tangle finally released, "…and we blamed it on toddler Ron out of pure panic of being caught, terrified of what Mum would do to us. We concocted this whole story of Dad taking us to the muggle village to see some plugs and in passing we saw the ad on the tv screen and how it had freaked little Ron out so much that maybe his accidental magic had caused it. Charlie just kept saying, 'Well, Mum you were visiting Aunt Muriel' as if repeating it enough would make her believe our entire poppycock story. So, Dad and Ron both think you have to talk really, really loud on the phone to this day and Ron gets really embarrassed about any mentions of his phone misadventures." She flinched slightly.

He brushed more of Fleur's expensive left over conditioner into her wildly tangled hair, while wondering if he should give her a tension potion for her shoulders. No, he threw one into the water already. "Dad completely knew we were lying, probably wasn't sure if we were covering for the twins or not, but let it pass because it got him out of trouble with Mum too. He even backed our little tale up by producing some extra plugs that he'd been hiding in the shed."

She made a hoarse noise that might have been a laugh and Bill smiled at his small victory, at least lightening her mood for a moment. He rinsed her hair combing it gently, and unsure what to do next was extremely happy when Winky popped into the bathroom, wringing her hands. "Clean clothes for Misses Hermione, Winky didn't have time to iron or fit thems, but is making broths and dinner for everyone. Mr. Harry Potter wants to…" a soft wail escaped her, "gives Dobby a funeral soon." Reverence entered her wailing tone, "A real funeral for a house elf."

Bill thanked and reassured the little elf with tears running down her cheeks, patted her gently as he left the bathroom to let the elf help Hermione fully rinse off and dress. He was planning on consulting the better trained healers about what to do about the still bleeding words inscribed on her arm and see how everyone else was doing. A thought passed through his mind that if only they could contact Poppy for assistance, but communication with Hogwarts wasn't easy. He sighed, curse breakers recognized nasty cursed wounds when they saw it, but it didn't mean they always had the answers or counter charms, that was why Healers existed. Perhaps one of the twins had thought to bring one of Aunt Muriel's advanced healer books or there would be something in his own collection of books on cursed objects to help.

He didn't make it fully across the room before the little elf appeared in front of him with a crack, barring his way. "No, no, Misses Hermione is shaking, sirs. She doesn't want you to leaves, so you stays."

So, Bill rubbed a hand over his face again and obediently turned around, really wondering when someone would be able to explain to him what had happened and not wanting to get on the wrong side of house elf magic. He creaked the bathroom door open, "Hermione? I'm sorry, I was just going to get some bandages and some healer advice."

She looked swallowed by Tonk's pre-pregnancy robes, her shoulders shaking with unshed tears and Bill did the only natural thing he could: there weren't words for what she was going through. Touched her shoulder in permission, before pulling her into his arms, stroking her back, letting her take the strength from him she didn't have at the moment and felt the magic begin to flow. It was sometime later when she was calm enough to go down and bury her little friend and saviour. Bill eyed the stairs dubiously, her legs still as shaky as a newborn colt, and knew innately from his own recovery that she wouldn't damn well let herself be carried down. So it was with great relief when Fred came out of another room at the right moment, saw the stairs, bowed dramatically to Hermione before offering her his arm, "May we escort you down, milady?"

She took first Fred's arm then Bill's and let herself be supported, her weight barely touching each stair. Fred quoting and misquoting the muggle and wizarding versions of the Canterbury Tales throughout their slow progression to Dobby's final resting place. It was a grave Harry, Ron and Dean had manually dug, and the gathered crowd had a the little elf crying near Professor Lupin, Harry's blank face, Ron's anxious one amongst Dean and George and a sad, but serene Luna. She smiled when they approached and handed Fred a tiny, little knitted hat, which everyone else was already wearing in some bizarre twist on celebratory paper Christmas crowns. Fred promptly plopped it on his head and moved towards his twin, wearing a poorly knit horrid green hat. Bill took and applied his mechanically and was surprised when Ron was both anxious and tentative in bringing the last one to Hermione, his words soft as he looked her over with his heart on his face, "Dobby kept them all, every last one you made."

She made no response and Bill wondered if perhaps he had indeed given her too many calming draughts by accident, but then Ron tried to place the hat on her head and there was certainly a reaction. She flinched away and twisted as if to take herself away, but wandless and weak she simply collided with Bill's chest. She stayed there trembling, held up by his arms, while Ron's face changed from anxious to red, then white. She finally turned forward only when a seemingly oblivious Luna began to speak for Dobby. Either not noticing or caring about the hurt still crashing across Ron's face that had nothing to do with the funeral he was attending or his other best friend's crashing emotional state.

The funeral was complete and people were starting to drift towards the house to finish what had been a very long day, trying to slip quietly away to let Harry have the last few moments with his friend, when Ron's anxiety and temper broke into a stress-induced tantrum. "Why are you holding her like that, Bill? Why?"

Bill opted for logic, never the best tactic with his youngest brother, but always Bill's innate response. "Ron, she can't stand on her own. She's been through a lot." His last sentence was meant as a gentle reminder, "You all have."

Ron's ears started to burn red in growing anger as he looked at the girl he so desperately cared for, had so desperately failed in protecting. "She needs St. Mungo's!" A pause, as Ron noticed her wet hair and fresh robe, his voice rising rapidly in volume, "Who the bloody hell helped her clean up if she can't stand? Luna was with us."

Hermione started to shake in his arms again and turned into Bill's chest when something unexpected happened. Ron hit the ground, clearly stupefied and cut off in what was inevitably building into a rant he would certainly regret later. Bill looked to his brothers, saw them looking at each other in baffled confusion and then Dean spoke, nervously. "Sorry, I just….well…it's not right at a funeral, you know?" He gestured, "It's upsetting the girls."

Luna glanced at him thoughtfully, her own face calming down as she gestured for Winky. "Was that a non-verbal spell?"

He nodded, giving the other Weasleys' an apologetic glance, "Mr. Tonks thought that just because I was on the run it didn't mean I had to stop my education." A pause. "Sorry, Harry I know he's your best mate."

The twins spoke in unison, saving Harry from any response. "Well done."

Fred, "I bet that-"

George, "-having to share a dorm-"

Fred, "-for _years-"_

George, "-with teenage Ron would want anyone to-"

Fred, "-hex him. Believe me-"

In unison again, "-We would know."

The levity broke, and Bill half-heartedly shook his head at his younger brothers antics, as Dean smiled in thanks at them. Remus spoke next with his own sad smile, "30 points to Gryffindor, Mr. Thomas." A pause as he glanced at Harry, who had barely taken in the scene and Hermione still shuddering in Bill's arms, "I believe in this case, Mr. Weasley should be administered a draught of dreamless sleep before being e _nnervated,_ allowing him to rest fully _._ A recommendation for anyone who hasn't had a full night's sleep in recent times. _"_

George headed for the house with Ron levitating beside him and Remus cast a thoughtful look at all of them, indicating Dean and Luna should follow with the distraught little elf crying into her dress. He looked between Bill and Fred and said decidedly, "Fred, do you mind checking in quickly at headquarters, your mother will be having kittens having heard the messages. I believe we'll need some extra potion supplies as well." Here his eyes slid to Hermione then away again, "Bill, do you mind helping get everyone arranged for the night? I'll need to help shift Shell Cottage out of cargo rotation for awhile and restrain my wife from going on a rampage."

Bill nodded and they both disappeared with a twist, and he and his little, quiet companion made their way back to the house by the sea, leaving Harry to grieve without either of his best friends to support him. Sometimes, grief needed privacy to start the healing process.

"I'd actually been itching to do it for ages, Seamus and I had this crazy scorecard between our beds tracking Ron's sulks, Harry's nightmares and Neville's potions breakdowns to prevent us from hexing them in their sleep. Though we never would have actually hexed Nev." They were the first words that drifted into Bill and Hermione's ears as he slowly re-entered Shell Cottage and she indicated she would no longer tolerate being carried. With a frown he set her back on her own feet, securely wrapping an arm around her waist so he could more discreetly lift her with each step.

George's laughter was choked by a full mouth of bread. "Fred, Lee and I were so disruptive McGonagall let our other roomers move into a different room in third year."

"I wish I could have done that," Luna's dreamy voice floated as they entered the kitchen, "Ginny was my first real friend, you know."

As a still crying Winky started to bustle them towards the table, George shot him a questioning look, eyeing the doorway for Fred. Bill shook his head in the negative, "Checking in. Winky, I think it's best Hermione eats in bed. She'll be in the master room. Luna, come up when you're ready."

Hermione clutched at him, ragged sharp nails digging into his side, telling him that his plan of having her and Luna in there and the boys sleep in the living room and spare room to allow Mr. Ollivander and Griphook private healing was not going to be accepted. Bill internally sighed, not wanting to face why it was him she was clinging to so heavily rather than Harry or Ron, or even her other schoolmates. He knew though, he'd been in her shoes. The Ravenclaw seemed to comprehend the shift in mood and said, "Oh, I think it would be too much of a shock if Mr. Ollivander woke and I wasn't there. We were in the same cell for ever so long."

Bill nodded his thanks and took his unexpected charge upstairs, alternating broth, bread and potions to his silent tucked in patient. The dreamless sleep draught was next when she croaked, "Stay?"

"Of course, now drink this and I"ll tell you a tale of when Charlie took down the entire floo network." He settled into the chair he'd pulled up to the bedside as he watched her drink it, not entirely surprised when she pulled his hand urging him into the bed and curled against him immediately. Merlin, she was freezing. What conditions had she, Harry and Ron been living in before showing up on his beach? Ron had said they'd had a tent and been starving, but he'd spent his December at Shell Cottage, warm and contrite.

He summoned another blanket to the bed, casting a warming charm on it and began to speak softly, knowing the potion would kick in soon enough. "Once upon a time, Charlie Weasley didn't know you couldn't floo with certain magical creatures. So when he tried to floo with a baby dragon…"

The door eased open, not disturbing the girl who'd just fallen asleep, and George's head popped in. Bill motioned him inward, wondering what was next and surprised by what it turned out to be. George took the chair with a slightly raised eyebrow, then emotions passed across his face as he stared at Hermione's limp form curled against Bill's chest. George struggled for a moment, torn on speaking or not, before finally coming to a choice of words. "I'm glad it's you, Bill. You've always had the most level head and she'll need that."

Bill stared at his brother, knowing where this was going, but not going to be the one to say it, to bring up the past. George gave a grim upturning of the lips and obliged, his hand ghosting over his missing ear as he glanced to make sure she was truly out. "Dean said they could hear her being tortured from the dungeons and Ron kept screaming her name every time she screamed." He grimaced, but gave no further description. "You're the first safe person she saw and you know how magical healing goes after things like that." He paused, the bond of knowing both he and Bill had been through the process of magical healing after being damaged, and looked at his oldest brother clinically, "I clearly had Fred. At least you two took all the boring classes the rest of us skipped. Runes, Muggle Studies, Arithmancy…"

Bill tried for a joke and failed miserably, "You took Arithmancy, George, and I heard rumors Fred was there occasionally."

George half shrugged, his tone light and joking. "We thought it would help us run the shop. We split the electives, though usually teachers couldn't tell which one of us was actually attending the class as we still had matching ears then." Emotions crossed his face again like a cloud, a decision finally being made. This time his voice was softer and more conflicted, less the distant tone he used whenever he handled anything related to the war and not the irreverent lightness that so characterized the twins' usual demeanour. He shifted from the man who'd lost an ear in battle to simply Bill's younger sibling. "Ron isn't the only brother whose attention she captured at Hogwarts."

Bill raised his eyebrows in surprise, running possibilities of the siblings who'd been at Hogwarts with her and age differences. "You?"

"Fred, actually." A grin did light George's face this time, "You wouldn't believe all of the stupid stuff I had to do just so she would talk to us, well, really scold us most of the time or even just sit with us at meals. Meals were easier when Ron was being a prat to her." He stood, his smile showing he was shifting back into his normal self and into a more businesslike mode, "I've got to get the potions started, but can he have a few minutes with her? He's as worried sick as ickle Ronniekins."

It went without saying that Fred was torn up, while George was the slightly more sensible, restrained and quieter twin, Fred carried the mantle of being loud and completely invested in whatever he did, feelings included. Bill nodded and began to shift her off of him knowing Fred would be back at any moment, "I"ll help you get the potions started, she'll be out for awhile."

A/N: Reviews are very much appreciated, flame away if you feel the need, and drop a line if you're willing to beta! If this seems a little complicated let me know, because when Ginny and Tonks get involved there's no telling how crazy things will get.

Cheers,

Crow


	2. The Morning After

A/N: On we go, thanks for the reviews! Each made my day and special thanks to DivergentFanCat for offering to beta and sanity check! Now moving forward, I'll try to co-post the updates to the 'Day We Broke Mum' to when they're happening in accordance with this story, so there's some idea of when Hermione is getting to hear the snippets.

 **Ch 2: The next morning**

"Why didn't Fred ever say anything?" Bill asked as he unpacked potions supplies and George double checked the silencing charm around the combined dining nook and kitchen. It seemed easier to talk about his brother's unrequited love than face the fact that the house was full of people who'd been held captive, tortured or on the run for months. There would be enough of dealing with those issues come morning.

George shrugged as if the answer should be obvious, "Well there was Ron, of course, and it was just a crush. She was a ball of stress between studying and looking after Harry, plus she'd dated Viktor Krum and he figured she wouldn't take him seriously. So he just kept flirting with Katie Bell. We wanted to prove we were more than just lazy pranksters by having the shop be a success, prove it to everyone, really. Not just girls, but family too." His chest puffed for a moment, "Peeves saluted us as we left, you know, and McGonagall even wrote us a thank you note for the gift we left her. We'd put her through stress enough during our years there."

"What was it? You never gave me a present for teaching the two of you how to stop getting caught by Filch in your first year." Bill asked, starting to dice gurdyroot, his mind flitting to how much and little he knew about his younger siblings Hogwarts adventures and vice versa. Percy was the only one to attend school with all of them at one point or another, to always have a brother playing quidditch for Gryffindor to cheer for.

"Well, you gave us detention where you made us study while you snogged some girl, ignoring how innocent we were at the time." George shot back, before grinning as Bill rolled his eyes and gave his brother his best Head Boy look, George's grin widened. "A charmed rose for her desk that would roar when any WWW products were used during her lessons." George grin tipped upwards on one side into a slightly more pompous look, "Transfiguration is really one of the most important ones, I don't think we ever skivved off on that class. Well, on purpose anyway, might have during initial testing when we were still making ourselves seriously sick."

Bill nodded in agreement, only half-listening even if the back of his mind found it a rather fond gesture for their strict Head of House. He was wondering just how dicey this healing situation was going to get with his brothers if Hermione was going to use him as her familiar for a time. He wasn't particularly worried about upsetting Fred, more anxious about how it was going to affect Ron given how he'd reacted the night before at Bill simply keeping her standing. Then Bill noticed the recipe he was working with seemed just slightly off, "Is this right for a hangover potion? Why is this high on the list of what needs to be made?"

George glanced up from the caldron he was carefully stirring that contained a potion for the after-effects of the Unforgivable Curse. "Oh that, we're thinking of calling it 'Muriel's Lucidity Potion'. Living with Aunt Muriel, Mum plus half the Order drove us and Dad to firewhiskey one night and in the morning she accidentally poured Fred's hangover potion into her chamomile tea, thinking he was bringing her the potion for her arthritis. Within minutes she'd gone from being a crazy old bat to completely sane, as if she was still a healer at St. Mungo's. Only happened three days ago, but we've tinkered with it enough that maybe it'll help figure out what happened earlier. They all seem so confused when you talk to them, bits here and there and none of it connecting into an actual story. Harry's practically mute." He frowned, but the businessman was back, "We'll probably patent it when this is all over, could be really useful for St. Mungo's."

Bill nodded in slight amount of awe, he'd always known the twins were quite brilliant at what they actually applied themselves at, but that had mainly seemed to be making people happy covered by guise of causing mayhem. "Any luck with getting any of the Healers there to join our side?"

George shook his head in the negative and Bill's stomach dropped a little expecting the same update, "Not that they don't want to, but we think a fair amount are Imperioused, and the rest are too afraid for their families or patients." He looked up at Bill and with a look that reminded Bill this was his vulnerable baby brother, George's voice dropped. "Was it like this way, the last time? I can only remember a little of it."

Bill stopped chopping for a moment and leaned against the counter, this was a long, long night and one for confessions, for terrible memories to bubble up of from the whispers of time. "Worse. He'd been in power so much longer." He paused, thinking of how to explain it, the fear, the constant deaths, the many reasons his first year at Hogwarts had so few students. "I had to ask Uncle Gideon what the word refugee meant since so many were fleeing the country, hiding and who knows what else. He explained it in a sing song voice because he was trying to get the two of you to settle down for a nap and I had baby Ron. We weren't known blood traitors then yet, so it wasn't as bad for us…."

The last words had been spoken with slight bitterness that lifted as Fred knocked at the door. Bill pulled his wand and asked a security question, darker than normal, and always changing. Something he'd neglected to do when people started showing up on the beach. "What did you do at the platform the first year Percy went to Hogwarts?"

George smiled behind him, but it was Fred who answered. "Snuck on the train so Mum would yell at me for a few minutes rather than cry all day that you three prats were gone and wouldn't be back until holidays."

Bill opened the door to find Fred holding a large box and with another Healer ready bag slung across his shoulder. Bill grabbed the box, quickly noting the vases of daffodils that were in bloom at Muriel's this time of year and bags of vivid WWW orange, before Fred grabbed it back, ears slightly pink. He covered it well, "Sorry it took so long, everyone was in an uproar and I had to explain it all to Kingsley and again when Lupin showed up from rearranging Shell Cottage out of underground rotation."

He set the bag on the counter, glancing at their potions work, "Supplies for potions and food for a few days." He leaned against the counter, though his eyes drifted upwards involuntarily. "This is now the safest safehouse the Order has, given the circumstances."

George opened his mouth to question, but Fred went grimly on. "Tonks is Obliviating the knowledge of it and the location from the entire Order, save who's here or abroad, as we speak."

George shut his mouth, then opened it again at the severity of measures being taken, "Even Kingsley?"

Fred nodded in confirmation, "Especially, Kingsley, he looked rather more than confounded when she was finished with him. He works at the Ministry and is possibly suspected as an Order member. Professor Lupin will wipe it from Tonks once she's done. He's nervous about the baby, but Tonks wasn't the only person to make into Auror training from her year without a reason, she knows what she's doing. So you'll have to go to Aunt Muriel's to see Mum and Dad. Next meeting is in two days."

Bill swallowed feeling guilty, but understood it was the best option under the current circumstances. He'd been the one to send the patronus to the entire Order and the Order had learned the hard way last time with Pettigrew, and this time with Snape how easily their own ranks were infiltrated. "Fred, do you mind checking in on Mr. Ollivander, Griphook and Hermione, while I finish this potion? Yellow room, nursery and the master, but I think the warming charms we set will be wearing off by now."

Fred nodded and picked up his box and headed for the stairs, ignoring Bill's slip of reference to what was now the study, but had been planned as a nursery when he bought the house. There were minutes of silence and potion brewing before Bill and George happened to catch eyes over recipes, "So that's us, Charlie, and Lupin. Anyone else?"

Bill wiped a tired hand down his face, "Anyone who sheltered here on their way out of the country or into hiding was wiped upon leaving. Except Fleur, Krum and Madame Maxine."

George's question hung heavily in the air between the two, the question of how much they were really trusted. Not wanting to step on that potential bomb of Fleur, instead he asked a gentler question, "Would it even work on Hagrid or Madame Maxine with giant blood mixed in?"

Bill threw diced spleen into his second caldron and gave it a stir before answering both the silent and spoken question, "I'm not sure since it works on the mind, while giants tend to be more impervious to spells aimed at them physically, stunners and such. I don't think we're in any danger of being revealed though, but I'll change the wards. There's an ancient Egyptian rune l think will do a small dimensional shift on the Fidelius Charm. I'll look at it in the morning."

George gave a nod then looked as if he was thinking before smiling, "We can also add the more advanced snitch charm we used on our old room at the Burrow when Mom was always trying to see what we were up to and destroy our stock, the wards will glow red and indicate who if someone tattled."

Bill rolled his eyes, glad he was out of the Burrow before the twins became truly and dangerously devious. "Who did you catch the most?"

George was still smiling, "Ron, naturally. He was a major tester of early WWW products, though he didn't know it." He paused and the smile dropped, "Well, technically it was a tie with Percy before…"

He left and cut off all ties to their family. It hung in the air and Bill wanted to wipe the ache of betrayal away, "And Ginny?"

The bright wicked smile was back with a touch of pride, "Never once. We think Harry didn't know any better his first summer at the Burrow and Charlie was seriously peeved when-"

His twin answered, re-entering the kitchen and making eye contact with his other half, "-he accidentally set his shoe on fire in our room coming to tell us it was time for dinner." A chuckle, Fred's good mood back intact. "You'd think for a dragon tamer he would have been used to fire, but nope. He cursed up a storm loud enough that Mum heard and we all got in trouble."

Bill smiled in return, "First you were pranksters, inventors, businessmen, healers and apparently never quite lost the pyromaniac streak despite the fact you broke Mum and blew up part of the house. More than once, I might add. Ron is still convinced his room smells like gunpowder from it."

"Well, we had to figure out how to heal ourselves to keep Mum from losing her mind a second time." Fred said flippantly, "Silly Billy, how were we going to invent the best magical fireworks without playing with fire? You know Dad had the thing with matches after the World Cup so they were everywhere, Mum couldn't banish them fast enough to keep us from getting ahold of a few packs."

George chimed in, "Ron's room does still smell like gunpowder, the ghoul above him guards it for us. We're his favorites, you know."

Bill rolled his eyes and decided to change the subject, knowing they also frequently snuck into the muggle village nearby. "Are you two bunking here?"

George shrugged and began to rattle, "We'll probably be up all night making enough potions for use here and to replenish the Order stock, so there's a good chance. The lot of them are going to need nourishment potions for days, plus calming draughts, dreamless sleep, pain reduction, muscle knitting, nerve blunting and specialized potions for the goblin…" He shared a glance with Fred that only belonged between the two and abruptly stopped babbling, "Besides, there's room enough in the living room where the boys are. It'll be like old times in the common room."

Fred approached the table, nudging Bill from the caldrons he was manning. "Everyone's asleep and warm, our little Seeker was also tricked into a dreamless sleep potion in his butterbeer. I always knew I liked that Thomas kid."

George's banter flew back, "Not when he was dating Ginny you didn't."

Fred waved a hand at Bill, dismissing him from the conversation. "Who are you to say, twin of mine? I never hexed him, did I? Get some rest, eldest and wisest of us all. I left some potions for her and I don't know how she'll take waking up alone in a strange place."

Bill nodded and returned to his room to find it different, Fred's handiwork was evident, but not as drastically dramatic as he'd been expecting. He'd transfigured a fireplace from something and left a banked fire, with a vase of daffodils by the promised potions on the bedside table. Near them was a bag of what appeared to be the more harmless WWW products, sugar quills, as well some books. Bill smiled at the thoughtfulness that reminded him of his Mum. A glance at the bed showed Hermione had already disengaged herself from some of the covers at her feet, but her hair was dry and plaited the same way Fred had always braided Ginny's at bedtime when she was small or had nightmares. He looked at the chair beside the bed, then back to the bed and his tired mind and aching body made the decision for him. Shedding his robes and blindly tossing clothes off he crawled back in next to her falling into a dead sleep as soon as his head hit a pillow.

* * *

He'd gotten maybe three hours of sleep before he was awoken abruptly by the loss of his warm blanket and finding the body that had been curled against him now had her back to the wall with her icy feet pressed against his stomach for warmth. She had the blankets and his wand pointed half-heartedly at him, brown eyes wide and alert. Merlin's beard.

He raised his hands in a groggy surrender method, "Hermione, it's just Bill Weasley. You were brought here last night…for safety."

She looked at him, then at the clock to verify something and nodded to indicate she understood, before she turned to the window, wand tightening in her grip. He followed her gaze, almost 4:30 am and half-asleep and dead tired he was, it clicked, he'd worked enough Order shifts to have his own sleep schedule ruined. "Is it your normal turn to be on watch?"

She nodded and a shiver ran through her that told him that something else, a memory perhaps, might have woken her despite the potions. He didn't bother to calculate how long ago he'd knocked her out to see if the potions had just worn off. He shivered again in the night air, despite Fred's banked fire, as somewhere during the night he'd lost his shirt. He rose from the bed, chatting at her, glad she didn't seem to be alarmed by having woken up in bed with him. He wasn't naturally the most talkative person, he had enough siblings that made up for it, but had a feeling he would need to be over the next few days. "Well if we're going to be on watch I'll need some tea or a pot of chocolate at the very least, maybe breakfast too."

He felt her eyes following him, could hear her stomach growl as he opened a drawer groping for a fresh shirt and glanced over his shoulder to watch her reaction, "Porridge and toast, maybe some eggs? I think we're out of kippers and bangers. We should be able to cover the taste of the potions for you, though."

She scooted closer to the edge of the bed and nodded, he pulled on a sweater and held out a hand to help her up, surprised when she handed him his wand instead. He took it without comment and re-offered his hand for assistance, finding she'd shed Tonks' spare robes for his shirt from yesterday instead and still looked swallowed in the clothing. "Bring the blanket," he advised, as he grabbed the tray of potions Fred had left, tossing two books on it at random. "I'll have to let you know, the twins were making potions in the kitchen so it might be a bit of a mess."

She frowned at this bit of information, almost as if she were still a prefect, but took his hand willingly enough and let herself be all but carried down the stairs. Passing through the small dining nook he was pleased to see the twins had bunked here after all, despite the small snores one of them was making facedown on the table next to his caldron with the other asleep curled up across from him on the other bench, clearly unable to stay awake any longer. She smiled softly at the sight, her blanket trailing behind her and reached a hesitant shaky hand out as if to touch his hair before withdrawing it. Bill was even more pleased to realize they had not left a mess; the potion bottles were lined up, stoppered and labeled in rows across the back of the table. Not being sure of how strong her legs were, he gently picked her up and set her on the kitchen counter before lifting the kettle."Tea or a pot of chocolate, do you think?"

He got a rather emphatic nod for the second option and smiled back at her, his voice quieter given the proximity of his sleeping brothers as he set about making hot cocoa and determining what her starving stomach could handle best with the mix of potions she was going to have to take, certainly nothing too heavy to start with. He spoke softly at her, noticing her eyes darting around the kitchen and to the window. "I'll start a pot of porridge for everyone to dip into when they wake, but for us I'll make toast and eggs, if you'd like?"

Another nod and he smiled, handing her a potion, in a soft mimic of his mother. "Bottoms up, dear. Then you can have your cocoa."

A ghost of a smile that made Bill wonder how often she'd smiled since the three of them had gone on the lamb. She drank the nutrient potion and was promptly rewarded with a cup of the warm, special family recipe of hot cocoa. He let her savor it, hunting for the apron and pulling down various cooking utensils, feeling her watching him all the time. It was slightly disconcerting being the object of such intense focus. Straightening, he tied the apron around his waist, a horrendous frilly, magenta gag gift from the twins and was rewarded with another tiny upturning of her lips. He smirked back, "Another potion, pet, and you won't have to watch me cook."

Her eyes widened in some alarm and he indicated the books on the tray, "I pick the potion, you pick the book. I can cook and keep watch at the same time. I half-raised six siblings, I"ll have you know." He finished with a wink.

Seeing her favorite book she nodded eagerly, Bill smothered a smile and set the toast in a pan and waited a few moments before he cracked the eggs into another. He approached the table and picked one of the twin's freshly brewed potions from near their sleeping forms, this one for the after effects of Cruciatus curse to help her muscles knit and slowly heal the damaged nerve endings. He handed it to her and then grabbed the book she'd been obviously eyeing, "Hogwarts, A History. I always especially enjoy the chapter on the lake and the one about the ley lines running under the castle."

She swallowed this potion in milliseconds giving him a full blown smile, a glimpse of the girl she once was, could be again. He gave her his own grin in return, sipping his own cocoa, continuing on as she seemed keen to keep her silence. After a few moments, he flipped the toast and eggs, not bothering to ask how she preferred them cooked. Perhaps young Georgie had been right about shared interests as he saw her eagerly scanning the chapter he'd just mentioned in a familiar fashion, "Nearly Headless Nick disputes the part written on him, you know. He was the first ghost I met at Hogwarts," plates being pulled down, "just like most young Gryffindors, except I asked him about it and it took most of my first year to get back in his good graces."

She smiled at him again and he slipped her off the counter and gestured towards the table as he made the plates. He felt her hesitate, "Oh, just sit wherever you feel, I'll shove one of them over."

She perched at the edge near where George was curled on the cushy bench and he hovered her plate towards her, grabbing jam and butter to carry with his own. It was Fred he nudged over to sit, got a grunt as he moved, and a "Geroff" in response. Then one eye opened and Bill gestured at the stove, "There's extra eggs and toast if you're hungry."

Fred merely leaned his head over and took a bite out of the toast Bill was buttering like an animal, before straightening to take a sip of Bill's hot chocolate and withdrew himself from the table, grumbling at George that they needed to move. He paused upon seeing Hermione and glanced at the window, seeing it was still dark outside, said a very soft, "Hey there, Granger."

Then hassled George again who obediently rose and sleepily grabbed the rest of Bill's toast as he followed his twin, Fred paused at the doorway, "Don't touch that caldron, it needs to sit for six hours." Then changed his mind and walked over to the stove and grabbed a piece of toast and threw an egg on it and went after his one eared half, munching away.

Then they were gone, presumably to find somewhere else to lay down in a more normal fashion. Bill smiled at Hermione, to let her know it was ok as she was starting to hand him some of her toast. "Weasley twin routine: odd hours, food theft, falling asleep in strange places. Pretty much like our cats. Except they're capable of sharing things, unlike our cats, bet George gets some of that egg. This is minimal food theft for them, actually, they're the most fond of breakfast sandwiches: they lovingly named them McMollys. One of them used to pop over to the Burrow to grab two every morning before they would open the shop, or three if Verity was working in the morning. Mum would have them all wrapped up and ready to go, same as she would for Dad if he was in a rush."

Her eyes smiled this time at his fond explanation and then darkened at something and they fell into eating their very, very early breakfast in a comfortable silence. He started the porridge to leave on low and filled the kettle for whoever woke next as she read and when he handed her the next potion, blood replenishing, she took it without question of what it was or bribing. He poured her the last of the chocolate and set about cleaning up from their meal and once done handed her another potion, which she obediently swallowed before flipping the page, not realizing it was more dreamless sleep. So, this time he did carry her up the stairs to the bed where she would hopefully get some of the rest she so clearly needed.

* * *

Harry was carrying the lunch tray as they went up the stairs, softly arguing with his friend. "Ron, you heard what Fred said about magical healing, we're supposed to only see her one at a time. I don't want to upset her."

"Fred's a git, he also said he was in charge as the eldest and most knowledgable twin." Ron protested, feeling anxious to see Hermione, especially after he'd blown up at her last night. "Besides, the three of us always are together. It wouldn't be bloody right to go one at a time."

"But he talked about how it was after George lost an ear-" Harry tried again.

"-And George said he actually thought it was Fred who had the harder time with separation anxiety." Ron replied, they'd already had this part of the argument while making the lunch tray.

Harry tried yet again his voice dropping to a full whisper, they were closer to the room now and could hear the rumble of Bill's voice through the door. "Fred said Bill had the roughest go after the attack and Fleur could barely be out of his sight."

"Well, he had Mum too, now didn't he? She'd probably thrown a proximity charm on herself and Bill and you know she and Fleur never got along. Magical healing with twins and Mum involved don't count. We won't upset her, we're her best mates, the ones she needs." Ron hissed back, determined they would both be bringing Hermione and Bill lunch and potions come hell or high water.

Harry sighed and was going to retort, but they could hear Bill's voice now carrying into the hallway. "See this rune here? We think that it was what the ancient Egyptian wizards used as their version of a Fidelius charm, but it works different than ours. I've got a theory if you apply both to the same location with different casters then even if something happened to either Secret-Keeper, the charm would hold as long as the other caster was fine."

Ron placed a hand on Harry's suddenly tensed shoulder, noticing the tray shake, knowing the thoughts running through his mind had to be on his parents or Dumbledore's death. Bill's voice went on and they listened in silence for Harry's sake, Ron still working up the nerve to knock on the door. "I'll need to test the theory, maybe on a rock or something. Professor Vec' wrote you're a whiz at Arthimancy and I'm short on people to overlook my equations, which need to be reviewed before I start any initial testing. If it works it could save so many lives for the Order."

Ron had heard enough of Bill's chummy voice and reached out and knocked, then lost courage and tried to hide behind Harry as Bill's voice called. "Who's there?"

"Harry," who shot a glance at Ron who'd gone mute and shook his head frantically, Harry went on. "Erm…with a tray of lunch."

"Come on in." Bill replied and the door opened a bit of its own accord. Ron could glimpse them through the crack: sitting on the bed curled together under the window with Bill's back against the wall. Hermione was blanketed with her legs across Bill looking intently at the book spread over her lap with parchment trailing down, pillows behind her to prop her up and several more books around them on the bed.

Harry entered and Ron felt himself flush red, emotions rising wildly inside him at the fact Bill's right arm was clearly wrapped around her lower back, quill in his left hand over the parchment. They looked like a comfortable couple, curled like that, they did. He saw Hermione look up at Harry eagerly, her eyes running over him as if to reassure herself he was fine and she gave him a faint smile. Then Ron's courage roared and he stepped into the room behind Harry and did not get the same reaction. The blood drained from her face and her hands clenched defensively. She was curling into Bill and Bill's voice was sharp, "Ron, out. Out!"

Ron backed out immediately, completely bewildered. Why was she reacting to him this way? Why him and not Harry? He didn't have long to wonder as he was abruptly grabbed and drug down the stairs by one of his brothers, not fast enough to skip hearing the choked sobs she was making loud enough to echo down the hallway. Fred was furious, "What did I effing tell you? One at a time! Dam-"

George cut him off, having appeared with a crack, "-Darling Ron, you've got to go see Mum for lunch. She'll be worried sick and driving everyone mad at headquarters. Fred, will you go and pack the potions for Ron to take?"

Ron was still shaken by the experience, by her reaction to him and dumbly nodded, allowing George to lead him outside, trying to soothe. "Fred wasn't wrong when he explained everything this morning," his hand ghosted over his missing ear, "Too much too soon is incredibly hard. You know more about what happened than I did, but I tried to hex anyone other than Fred for a few days if I got startled. Fred had to take away my wand because I did manage to hit the post owl."

Ron nodded dumbly at his brother, too hurt to argue. George went on sympathetically, "She's from a small family, so I imagine she'll need even more privacy. I wish it was you or Harry, but Bill will be just as good. They like all of the same boring stuff and will probably just nerd out while her magic settles and she heals up."

"I couldn't stop it from happening." Ron confessed it, almost babbling. "We were in the dungeons, but I should have stopped Harry from saying the Name…"

George patted him on the back, deciding to ignore his brother's rambling confession that still made no sense. "While you're there, will you ask Mum or Ginny for some clothes for Hermione and Luna? There's barely any that will fit them here. Oh, and-"

Fred reappeared, two Order healer bags in his arms. He seemed to have calmed himself, but glanced at George. "He can't get into Muriel's."

Ron made a protest, "I know exactly where Aunt Muriel lives and can apparate."

The twins shook their head in the negative in unison, communicating silently. Fred shoved the bags at George, "I'll go, be back in a mo'."

"What?" Ron demanded as George slung one bag across his back.

George's response was a grim smile, "We hid Muriel's, but you all had already gone off so you need to be given the location by the Secret-Keeper for access."

"Who is it?" Ron asked, beginning to wonder just how out of the loop they'd become while running around the forests of England.

"Mum." George smiled, "You should have seen the fight between her, Kingsley, Muriel and Dad over who it would be. Mum won, of course, and cast every darn charm herself to boot, then made Dad double them."

Ron smiled back, their Mum in a state was best just given what she demanded. "Ginny's there? Shouldn't she be at school?"

George opened his mouth to answer, but Fred's crack prevented him. He was holding a slip of paper, "Good to go, they'll be waiting." He looked at his twin, "You or I? He'll have to go side-along."

Ron opened his mouth, but it was George, "Me, you handled last night. Go take a nap or something."

Instead, Fred flung himself at his twin, barely being caught. "I missed you, Forge!"

"I missed you more, Gred!" Was the dramatic response with a squeeze.

"You two are sickening, you know that?" Ron asked as they pulled apart, and Fred gave a large fake sniffle.

George just shrugged, "Glad to know your opinion, c'mon we've got to walk farther out. Bill's doing something to the wards."

Ron fell into step with them, silently grabbing the other bag from his brother. "Do you think I upset her or just that it was two of us?"

George was quiet, not wanting to lie. "I think between the one brain you and Harry share you would have at least had one of you wear the cloak after everything we said this morning."

"Oh, it didn't even occur to us." Ron said softly and it truly hadn't, before rising in volume. "Hey! How do you know about Harry's cloak?"

"We borrowed it a few times." Fred said easily.

"After all we did give Harry the map." George added.

"You nicked the cloak, you mean!" Ron said upset, knowing it had been from his dorm room and Harry's trunk, which meant the twins had been sneaking about.

"Borrowed it, he always got it back-"

"-And we had to have some way to still avoid Mrs. Norris for the truly-"

"-Epic fight against Umbridge.-"

"-And Filch." George added, almost as if the caretaker had become an afterthought in their last year.

Fred's voice was conversational enough, "Don't make it sound like we forgot him, twin o mine. It just seemed he was having the happiest time of his life with her. They were a match made in heaven, I'd say."

Ron smiled despite himself at his borderline sociopathic brothers as Fred turned back with a wave. George watched him go for a moment then grinned at Ron, "We figure when he dies we'll adopt Mrs. Norris as penance for all of our years of causing him grief. Actually, Dumbledore suggested it when we got sent to him for the 47th time. Get ourselves a clean cosmic slate!"

Ron wondered if George was kidding about the number 47, but before he could finish his thought George grabbed him and Ron felt the familiar pull behind his navel.

They landed and Ron stumbled, already drawing a wand, "Warn someone, will you?"

George grinned as he passed Ron a piece of paper and glanced around the field. "Less fun that way. I was hoping you'd squeal."

Ron read the address, the paper already burning away as Muriel's mansion began appearing with his mother and father standing there, wands out. There was a moment before anyone moved and then his mother was engulfing him in her arms, identity questions forgotten. "Oh, Ron!"

Then Ronald Weasley, aged 18, did something entirely unexpected by everyone. He burst into tears.


	3. Accidental Memory Loss

A/N: Onwards we go, our narrators today are the twins and Charlie. Reviews always adored!

 **Ch 3: Accidental Memory Loss**

George plopped down across from his father at the table and reached immediately for the teapot, only to find his sister's hand quicker. "I'll pour it for you."

George let her, knowing Ginny knew everyone's tea preferences and that she, underage and stuck at Muriel's was slowly being driven insane by not being able to help with anything big. His dad spoke next, involuntarily glancing to where his youngest son had been bustled off by his wife for comforting, "Want anything stronger, George? From what news we've had…."

George nodded and let his dad grab a bottle of firewhiskey, thinking of the days when he and Fred had to bribe Sirius for some, but was made aware of his tea by his rather offended looking sister. He took a sip, savoring it, "Thanks, Gin. Do you think you can help round up some clothes for Hermione and Luna Lovegood to wear until they're shifted to different houses? I think Hermione has some, but Luna doesn't even have a wand."

"Of course, we can look after you've had your tea. I'll assume Mr. Ollivander and Dean are in need as well?" Ginny said in a perfectly helpful tone that indicated she certainly was not leaving this room and that they would be having a private conversation later. Damn, Ginny was channeling Mum again.

His dad handed George a glass of firewhiskey, eyeing his youngest daughter and then visibly decided to let it go as he took a sip from his own glass. "How are they?"

George shifted here, attempting to roll some tension out of sore shoulders from a night of potions brewing, sleeping on a bench and brother wrangling and tried for a joke anyway. "Bloody outstanding reunion." It wasn't funny to his own ear, "Mr. Ollivander and Luna are in the best shape, at least the Malfoys fed them and they don't seem to have been tortured, just kept. The goblin had to have his legs fixed and-" Ginny's impatient glare was almost burning him, so George took a sip and moved onto the real question. "It's not even been a day, and we're not sure about Hermione yet, part of why Ron is so upset. She's latched onto Bill like a leech, who's taking it in stride, as always. I had a very weird dream of when he must have been making her breakfast in the middle of the night, except in my dream they were on a flying carpet."

He took another sip of firewhiskey, then another, followed by tea, allowing what he'd said sink in and still feeling Ginny's gaze burning him. "Harry was going to have lunch with them when Ron..… and I came here to check in. Harry's malnourished and grieving, but seemed comfortable enough to laugh with his mates at breakfast."

Arthur Weasley nodded and glanced at Ginny, whose steely face could still be read by her family as easily as opening a favorite book. "I'm sure everyone will manage. Perhaps they'll be up to visiting as well in the next few days."

George shrugged, feeling rather exhausted at the lack of sleep and emotional toll of this particular assignment. "Perhaps. We made enough potions for their needs, but still need to brew to fully replenish the stock here." He mused, "I hope Fred started."

"You failed potions." Ginny's words were shot like an arrow.

"I enraged Snape by various, creative tactics, there's a difference, Gin. Fred secured our OWL in potions easily enough." George said, getting even more tired and wondering if perhaps he could take a nap somewhere in a real bed.

"Ginny, do you mind starting to sort the clothes for George to take back?" Mr. Weasley tried in vain to have her leave, but she remained seated and primly took a sip of her own tea.

George followed suit with both of his beverages while sharing a long glance with his dad, "The sooner we can shift people out, the easier it will be, I think. Mr. Ollivander should be healed enough soon. Dean and Luna are ready whenever there's placement available. We haven't yet told Mr. Ollivander about raiding his shop and all of the wands we managed to save and replace with fake ones."

Mr. Weasley nodded, "Andromeda is willing to take all three, but the Finnigans are also vocally offering for Dean, except there's some warding that needs to be done there. He'll have his pick, either way."

"Good, Bill's got enough on his hands at the moment without having to be a gracious host and Fred and I have our other assignment tomorrow, so we'll be gone too. Bill's practically Mum, he started breakfast for everyone even with everything going on." Another sip of tea.

"I could go, keep the house in line." Ginny offered earnestly. "Hermione is my best friend and I'm close with Luna as well."

George shared a long glance with his father, noting the distinct no in his gaze and and found himself supremely glad that nobody knew exactly where they were located anymore. "Bill's call, Ginny, you saw how upset Ron is. Perhaps they'll visit with you here even if he says no. Either way, let's go grab those clothes and let Dad sort out giving us more food rations. Fred brought what should have lasted for a week, but it's almost decimated. More eggs and bread would at least be nice. Some sort of proteins and fruit too if it can be spared from the greenhouse."

Ginny glared, but seemingly accepted the answer. "Fine, I'll sit here and sort clothes and talk to Aunt Muriel all day. What size does Mr. Ollivander need?"

George sighed, feeling for her, but nobody needed Ginny in a mood with Ron already upset. "I'll help you, Gin. Let's go."

They went upstairs and Ginny started digging through the clothes, throwing vividly colored robes into a pile and at George's questioning look from where he'd decided he was going to recline on the bed, simply said. "Luna. She loves bright stuff and thinks different colors help you ward off or find magical creatures. It's bollucks, but she'll appreciate it."

George just shrugged and shut his eyes for a minute, listening to her rustle around. He knew she was frustrated at being trapped here for safety, a cage, albeit a gilded mansion, was still a cage. He knew how stir crazy he and Fred had gotten between missions. Ginny's more timid voice made him open his eyes, "Fred and Remus were both really upset last night, not as bad as Ron though. Nobody seems to understand how they all ended up together in the first place at the Malfoys. Is everyone really ok?"

George shrugged, trying to be gentle seeing the concern on her face. "It hasn't even been a day, yet Gin. Harry truly seems fine, I haven't seen Hermione since early morning, but she's in good hands with Bill. I could hear him reading something muggle to her as I went for the loo."

Ginny gave him a small smile, "I should send some more books for her too, there's such a big library here. Does Bill have a chess set for Ron and Harry to play on? There's spares here. Now that I think of it, Dean likes chess too and I've got a deck of exploding snap."

"That's really thoughtful and I'm sure they'd appreciate it." George said and genuinely meant it, before shutting his eyes again.

Ginny busy sorting clothes, hadn't seen his eyes shut indicating he was trying to end the conversation and nap. Absorbed by her task and wanting to cover the soft noises they could hear of their mother calming Ron's distress, she made her first almost fatal mistake. "I'll just pop it all over to Shell Cottage, so you can have a real rest."

George's eyes flew open, Tonks had Obliviated every Order member…..but Ginny was too young to be a member and must have been skipped in all of the confusion. Ginny had her wand in her back pocket, George did something he'd never expected he would do, pointed his own wand at his sister and rather loudly exclaimed. " _Expelliarmus_."

He caught her wand as she stumbled and hearing the footsteps coming he concentrated very hard on removing her knowledge of Shell Cottage. He tried distinctly picturing what he wanted to take away in his head. He'd never done this spell before, but knew the theory. In his rising panic, he actually screamed the spell at her with all of the force he could muster: " _Obliviate!_ "

She flew backwards into the wall moments before the door was ripped open and his father ran in, wand drawn. He took in the scene, his voice sharp. "What happened?"

George was moving towards Ginny to check on her, he hadn't meant the spell to hit her quite that hard. Mouth running a mile a minute. "Ginny still knew where Bill's keeping everyone, so I took it away. Are there any other non-Order members here? Who else might have been missed in Tonks' sweep?"

Ginny was slowly sitting up, rubbing her head. "Why did you disarm me like that over clothes?" She rubbed her head again and shook it as if trying to clear it, before she looked around as if for someone else, "And who's Bill?"

George looked at his father as more footsteps were heard coming frantically the noise she'd made hitting the wall. His voice was resigned. "Oh, bloody hell. Mum's going to kill me."

* * *

Charlie was whistling under his breath as he strolled into the muggle post office with a familiar wave, heading for the PO box the dragon reserve kept for business reasons, and the few muggle raised trainers on staff. He unlocked it and wasn't terribly surprised in addition to the other mail, he had a thick letter with a fox stamp indicating the sender. Hopefully it was news from the Order and a new galleon that would be able to handle the distance issues those abroad encountered, besides his last one had been burnt to bits by a fit of dragon pique.

He decided to stop for a treat at the shop across the street and was surprised this letter had two letters in it and opted to begin with Fred's, the little fox in the top corner winking at him, it was dated a few days ago.

 _Dearest Freckled Brother,_

 _The family misses you terribly and is very much looking forward to your prodigal return in several days time for our lovely visit. Mum's even getting fussed up over how skinny you'll have gotten having to fend for yourself and worried about how many fires you've had to put out._

Charlie smiled and took a sip of his small coffee, imaging Fred writing this aloud, mimicking his mother's worried falsetto aloud to George or Ginny while making the letter meaningless in case the muggle post office read it.

 _We do have a favor to ask of you, o' missed one, it truly is a tiny thing and should be no trouble. Do you remember those candy souvenirs our little Ginny was ever so fond of, you brought last time you came home? She's run out and we're in desperate need of candy to placate her._

Charlie frowned, damning the day he introduced the twins to a rare form of magical ginger that couldn't be grown in Britain and whose import was monitored by the Ministry closely due to usage in the more extreme healing potions. The twins, had of course, found many other uses necessary for their inventions and the Order was running through healing potions as fast as they could brew. He'd have to make a pit stop on his way to Britain then.

 _Oh, and perhaps a few more sets of gloves, for presents and all. Dad and Mum are busy, but well, and just so you don't have to ask Percy is still being a prat. We think our other brother is still recovering well from the sickness that kept him out of school this year, but there's no way of really telling how it's going with his quarantine. I know you and William the Conqueror also correspond, so I'll ignore him._

Charlie grinned, Fred was such a prat himself sometimes, then his letter got decidedly interesting.

 _You'll note there is another letter included, it's from your dear Great Aunt Muriel. She made a mistake in mixing her tea one morning and stopped being a crazy old bat terrorizing everyone like an angry dragon over her precious crystal collection. It turns out, you really were her favorite child to babysit. Apparently, you were the cutest and sweetest of all of us children._

 _Never the favorite,_

 _Fred_

The handwriting shifted from left to right.

 _PS: If you have any news from our other foreign friends we'd love to hear it, it's so hard to handle our abundance of correspondences._

 _The more favorite twin,_

 _George_

Another shift to Ginny's loopy scrawl.

 _PPS: Please take me back with you, I'm going mad._

 _Aunt Muriel's slave,_

 _Gin_

Charlie actually laughed at Ginny's plea, wondering how she'd gotten ahold of an Order letter. He munched for a moment, missing his family and glad this dual country assignment at least let him see them more. In slight trepidation from Ginny's note, he opened the letter from his Great Aunt. A quick glance showed it was in fact written by a sane Muriel, he tucked it away to enjoy later and set about getting the rest of the supplies they needed for the reserve.

* * *

Fred jogged out to the beach where Bill and Hermione were sitting, looking out at the sea and drinking tea. He called his presence out, unable to keep the merriment from his voice, but not wanting to startle her by just appearing given how lunch had gone. "It's Fred, can I come over for a minute?"

He saw Bill glance at Hermione who nodded and Fred approached, dropping down next to their chairs, heedless of the sand, grinning in an exasperated way. "I might have to pop over to Muriel's, my brother seems to have caused a ruckus."

"What happened?" Bill asked, tensing slightly because brother was not a particularly descriptive term in this family and not really wanting to hear if Ron had done something else. He felt for his brother, he really did, but right now his priority was and needed to be the girl sitting next to him.

"Well, according to the message, Ginny no longer knows you exist, Bill." Fred grinned at their shocked faces, then sobered and tried to properly explain despite the fact he found it all rather hilarious, "Turns out while Tonks wiped the knowledge of this place from the Order, nobody wiped it from non-Order members and George upon realizing Ginny knew tried to obliviate her. Except, he'd never done it before and panicked he over did it rather extremely and erased her memory not only of Shell, but you entirely. They're trying to sort out if she even remembers Charlie either."

Bill reached up to rub a temple tiredly, surprised when Hermione spoke next her voice raspy and satisfied, "She's going to hex George into oblivion."

Fred grinned at her, "She's already thrown a broom at him, rather frustrated she didn't know how to ride it or 'what the bloody hell counting is'."

"That's because I taught her both." Bill said, laughing lightly before sobering, imaging the rage Ginny must be in and the resulting mayhem going on. "Is there anyone else that got missed in the wipe?"

"They're checking everyone who was there, Remus wants a list of any non-Order members who know about this place, besides Ginny and Muriel. I'm on note delivery duty." Fred pushed a piece of parchment and a quill at Bill.

Bill frowned in thought and Fred took a moment to study Hermione, still wrapped completely in her blanket, only her head out. She looked haggard, but calm and seemed lucid. "Granger, what do you think of my potion work?"

She gave him a small smile and murmured her thanks. Fred decided to just keep talking, "George is fairly certain Mum will actually kill or maim him, but she won't, we've done worse loads of times. They're sending clothes for you and Luna, but really how do you practice that charm and know you performed it precisely right? Like you can tell if it didn't work, but what about if it worked too hard and somebody forgot Tuesday. That would be terrible, Tuesday is one of the best days of the week."

 _"_ Why's that?" She asked softly to Fred, glancing at Bill still frowning in thought. Her hand drifted over to Bill's, giving his wrist a small squeeze, before going back under her blanket.

Fred began to rattle off his reasons, pretending he didn't see the gentle sight and handed her a potion to swallow. "Well, it's not Monday, for one. Second, growing up Tuesdays were pancake mornings and beef stew at night. At Hogwarts, it was always a day George and I could completely not pay attention in any classes and catch up on sleep." He dropped a wink at Hermione's frown,"We always had a free period, History of Magic and Divination. At the shop, Tuesdays were slow so we could spend time inventing."

Fred handed her the potion he'd brought out, she read the label and made a face, but swallowed it and was grateful when Fred handed her a biscuit to cover the taste. Bill shook his head and handed back the parchment with some names scrawled, "Only people who would know the general location, a few mates, but they haven't been since the cottage went under protection." His eyes glanced uneasily up at the sky, "Still, better to be safe than sorry? Fred, was it you that took Runes or George?"

"I'm rune boy, we decided I got that one because I always had the runnier nose." Fred agreed, adding his terrible joke.

Bill looked at Hermione, concern fluttering there. "You're cold, pet, let's get you back inside. Fred once you've given that to Remus can you help me test my theory on double Secret-Keepers? Hermione said the equations were fine and thinks the theory is academically solid."

Fred rose, watching Bill help Hermione rise and his arm automatically go around her to help support her. "Sure thing, we'll have to do it tonight though. You know George and I are duty, tomorrow right? Need to have at least one of us switch off for extra hands here? I'm sure someone would pick up a London shift."

She leaned into Bill, letting him fuss her blanket with his other hand. Bill spoke absently at Fred, "Let operations figure that out, I'm not sure what all they've got going on and now with what your twin did to our sister I'm not sure how short handed they'll be with me out of rotation already."

Fred gave a light response, feeling a small twinge looking at the two of them, at Bill's complete focus on her and the way she was looking up at him. He could practically see the magic moving gently between them, Bill's soothing the rough edges and replenishing hers effortlessly. The twinge went away as fast as it had come, he'd had his chance and Fred Weasley was not one to dwell in the past or his mistakes, there was too much lurking there. Instead, he preferred the opportunities offered by the future, by new ideas unfettered by previous failures or potion explosions. So he fell into step with them for a few moments, "Bill, how do you feel about your beach being planted with muggle mines as another protection layer?"

Hermione looked horrified and Fred dropped another wink at her, "Kidding. Well, only sort of. Mundungus did get his hands on some though and is trying to sell them to George and I. Thing is we don't really know how they work. Dean was starting to explain it, but Luna started talking about how they're really just filled with fairies and it all got rather twisted around and Harry seemed to just find it all hilarious."

"Let's go with no. Haven't you learned the hard way that Mundungus doesn't always sell what he's advertised?" Bill said decisively as Hermione firmly nodded beside him, giving Fred a very prefect glare.

Fred was starting to turn away and head for the apparation point, but grinned. "If you're referring to the spruced up jacket we got Charlie for Christmas, we knew exactly what we were buying. Just not about the sticking charm. Until later, my sea watching folk."

Then he gave a wave and a wink, leaving Bill to explain at Hermione's questioning glance. "They got Charlie a really nice blazer, claiming his wardrobe was lacking and that was why he couldn't get settled down. Mum made him try it on, but Charlie couldn't get it off and every time he tried to say something it came out in rhyming songs. Like, West End muggle musical style. Charlie's got a terrible off-key bellowing voice."

He opened the door to the cottage, smiling down at her, "Charlie actually loves it, says they have a ton of fun with it at the reserve when they're bored."

* * *

"Honestly, George-" Fred heard as he entered the kitchen at Muriel's, seeing his mother all but smack his brother with a bowl potatoes she was passing him at the table. He dropped into an empty seat, nudging his brother's shoulder in sympathetic support. She must have been on him like this all afternoon.

"Molly, it was an accident." His dad tried to soothe, following Fred in from checking his identity.

Fred took the offered bowl of potatoes and threw some on his plate, smothering a laugh as Muriel chimed in with her take on the situation. "Well, what did you honestly expect, Molly? He managed to lose his own ear, for Godric's sake!"

George shot Fred a miserable, helpless glance and Fred nudged him again in the shoulder in commiseration. "Well, Aunt Muriel, that really can't be blamed on him." He kept his voice bright, "Besides, now everyone can tell us apart!"

Tonks appeared, wand resting on her stomach followed by her husband, who pulled out a chair for her and rubbed her shoulders for a moment, before taking the seat next to her. "Wotcher. It took a bit of work, but she'll be fine. Knows about all of her brothers again and has all of her memories back. Well except today, that might be a bit fuzzy, you really did get her good, George. If the Ministry is ever back to normal, you'd get hired by the Obliviation department in a heartbeat."

Molly's face softened and she stopped actively glaring at George to smile at the couple, "Thank you so much for your help. Is she resting?"

"Yes, she'll be a bit dazed, but was reading Witch Weekly and eating chocolate as we stepped out." Remus answered, before shooting a questioning look at Fred who nodded and held up the parchment.

George's voice was hesitant, pleading almost, "You said she won't remember today?" Tonks nodded and took a bite of bread. His voice was now truly pleading, eyes wildly looking around the table. "So we're never telling her about it, right?" More urgently this time, "Right?"

Ron gave a choked sort of laugh, his plate already half empty. Whatever he was going to say with a mouth full of food was cut off, by the patient in question. Ginny did indeed sound dazed as she wandered into the kitchen, "Tell who what? Mum, can I have something for my head? I think I bumped it pretty hard, feels like I got hit by a bludger."

His mother shot George, and Fred by sheer proximity, a scathing look, as she stood. "Come along and we'll see. I think you might just need to lay down for awhile."

Ginny obediently followed her mother out, her voice drifting back, "Did my team at least win? It looks like my broom is a bit damaged from where I must have fallen…"

George turned red, his voice a hiss to his twin once they seemed safely out of earshot. "It is damaged, she threw it at me then started hitting me with it."

Fred snickered into his potatoes, "I wish I could have seen it."

George's voice wasn't quiet enough and had carried. His father sighed tiredly, "You really don't, Fred. It was…well,"he tried again, "It was-"

"It was certainly something by the time I arrived." Tonks said, but with a wink at George. "Almost rivaled the time the Hufflepuff common room was destroyed by a group of us trying to practice cheering charms, but another group had been mislead by one of your brothers on a special secret flick to make it advanced we all ended up throwing a strange mix of cheering and aggression charms at each other. Probably the happiest brawl Hogwarts has ever seen and Charlie's unhappiest aftermath. Your mum sent both him and Bill howlers."

Remus shook his head at his wife as he filled her plate, Fred laughed, "I remember that, it was when Bill was Head Boy. We saw them coming and started running assuming they were for us because we'd set dung bombs off in Filch's office."

Aunt Muriel was shaking her head as well, eyeing Tonks out of the corner of her eye as George gave a very small smile. "Arthur you and Molly have got to teach Ginerva some proper manners, violence is not the right way for a young lady to handle fights with her brothers now that she's grown. Or since you're both so busy, I'll give her proper etiquette lessons myself."

George choked on his food, if Ginny every did find out about what he did, he was deader than dead.


	4. April Showers

A/N: Of course thanks to all the brave reviewers! So now over to Harry and Fred's Shell Cottage adventures and George's Order mission with an old captain. While I don't love Harry's part, figured I should at least try writing from him and give a little more explanation of what's going on healing wise and the mayhem it's causing amongst friendships new and old.

 **April Showers Bring May Flowers**

Harry looked up as the knock on the back door he'd locked after hearing there were others who might know the location, slowly drawing one of the wands they'd stolen from Malfoy Manor. "Who is it?"

"Bill and Hermione, go ahead and verify, she's cold." Bill's voice.

Harry floundered for a moment, he really hadn't spent a large amount of time with the eldest Weasley except summers at the Burrow. Unable to think of anything super specific for Bill he tried Hermione though his question wasn't the best, "Hermione, what's your favorite book?"

"Hogwarts, a History." It was still Bill's voice, quickly followed by Dean's from the table. "So lame, everyone she went to school with knows that, mate."

Harry ignored the jibe and unlocked the door to see Bill shaking his head at him, "We'll work on security questions later. What have you kids been up to?"

He helped Hermione inside, sitting her by the fire as she didn't seem upset at both Harry and Dean being present, progress was being made even if she still limped. Harry shrugged, "Kreacher brought us dinner and Fred had Dean starting brewing potions and I've been bottling them."

This seemed to relieve Hermione and Harry smiled at her before sheepishly explaining to Bill, "Potions was my worst class. Well I think anyway, not really sure, Snape was fond of vanishing my finished results to give me zeros."

"Greasy git." Dean added for good measure, to also express his displeasure of their old teacher and giant headmaster killing traitor.

Bill looked around at the food and grabbed a sandwich, "Will you make a tray and eat with Hermione upstairs? Don't forget her biscuits, she needs to take the blue and orange potions right now. I've got to get cleaned up a bit."

Harry nodded and set about doing that, helping Hermione manage the stairwell with the tray floating with soup and sandwiches, after having her take blue and yellow potions back to back. She didn't seem particularly phased by being away from Bill, which seemed like that meant she too was feeling better quickly like he was. Perhaps her lunchtime episode had been a one time occurrence. "I think the potions taste awful, but at least we get treats with every one."

Hermione's voice was soft. "The nutrient one isn't so bad, were those the right potions? I'm starting to feel strange."

"Ummm," Harry started to waffle, what had he grabbed, blue and orange or blue and yellow or had it been yellow and orange? What had Bill said? Once in the bedroom she looked around as Harry set the tray down by the small fire and went to stoke it, assuming that's where they would eat. He could hear the water running from the bathroom and turned upon hearing the door open, and seeing her go in a staggering limping gate, "Hermione, no!"

She ignored Harry and Harry ran across the room, hearing Bill curse in exclamation at the intrusion. He gently caught her around the waist as she was starting to pull the curtain, "Bill's just showering, he didn't leave you if that's what's upsetting you. Nobody is leaving you again, I'm right here. Let's just give him a few minutes, ok?"

She shook her head and started reaching for the shower curtain again, indeed sounding slightly more dazed. "I want a bath too."

Bill's head popped up over the curtain, his face beet red. "You can take one next, Hermione. Just let me finish up first."

Her lip quivered and Bill didn't quite sigh merely softened, "You can stay, just on that side, ok? Harry help her sit on the counter and pass me my wand so I can cast some privacy charms. What did you give her?"

Harry dug into his robe to check then through Bill's discarded robes for his wand. "Blue and yellow."

"Oh hello everyone, I thought I heard voices." Harry jumped as Luna walked into the bathroom, her voice floating.

Harry shoved the wand past the shower curtain at Bill, hearing another soft curse in a foreign language. Bill's voice hissing back, "I said orange, Harry. Yellow is some potion that makes by senile aunt actually sane."

Luna was settling herself down to perch next to Hermione, "How are you feeling? I heard Ron upset you earlier, he's not very emotionally aware, too many turgies in his ears, I suspect. Did you know he made me cry my 4th year and was terrible to me over going to the Slughorn party with Harry?"

Harry looked wildly back and forth between the girls, unsure how to get Ron out of the line of conversation or how to handle the extra intrusion. Still he tried, "Luna, I think we're supposed to give Hermione space and only see her one at a time right now."

"Well then why are you all meeting in a bathroom? It seems rather strange." Luna responded and Hermione reached for the curtain again, finding Bill's hand was quicker this time, reaching out for hers and giving it a soapy squeeze for a long moment. This seemed to settle her down and Luna went on, "Oh, is that how the magical latched healing helps the potions work? I read that proximity is important for the individuals magic to help balance and restore. Except it doesn't always work very well if not all parties are human and sometimes not between blood differences."

"Yes, that's how it works." Bill's voice came, slightly terse over the sounds of him scrubbing his feet, that had been one of the issues with his latching onto Fleur: her part Veela and him partially infected with the lycanthrope virus. It had taken days longer than it should have and driven them and his hovering mother mad, Bill had been terrible to them both. Their magics hadn't wanted to flow naturally in the cycle so Bill and Fleur had just kept ending up in agitated screaming matches about everything wrong in their relationship where she'd cry as she fussed over his wounds.

The water shut off and Harry caught Hermione's hand from ripping the curtain open, "Bill, errrmm. Would you like me to pass you a towel and your clothes?"

"I'll cast a drying charm, but clothes would be nice." Hermione had pulled them from behind her and passed them to Harry, smiling happily in a dazed way, before pulling them back to her chest abruptly in a very childish frown.

"But who's going to wash my hair?" She protested, "Turn the water back on and let me in."

Harry felt himself blush at the thought and the entire absurdity of the situation, the four of them crammed into Bill's bathroom with Bill trapped and Hermione trying to get into the shower with him with no apparent concern for her usual modesty, she'd been so careful when changing while they were on the run, giving them strict rules for her privacy in changing and cleaning.

Luna offered sweetly, "Oh I can, if you'd like? My mother used to wash mine when I was little, I bet yours did too."

"Excellent idea, Luna. Clothes, Harry?" Bill's voice sounded falsely cheerful from someone in his situation.

Hermione was still holding them though, Harry reached for them and she shook her head. Harry could feel himself speaking to her like a child and couldn't stop it, she wasn't wrong when she'd said those potions made her not like herself. "Hermione, please pass Bill his clothes so you can have your bath."

Bill's head popped up over the curtain again, eyeing her, "C'mon pet, pass them up. I'll stay with you and Luna and read to you."

She shook her head and there was a rustling noise and the sound of a plug being popped in and the water being drawn. "See, I'm even starting your bath. I'll make bubble animals for you and everything."

"You're not seeing her naked." Harry began, feeling anger creep up the back of his neck at the thought. He hadn't been fully paying attention to the fight last night, but if Ron was upset over Bill having given Hermione a bath, maybe there was a point in there. It was just…just wrong.

Hermione was also in agreement, "Nobody sees, remember? Nobody sees!"

"Nobody sees what?" It was a returned by Fred followed by Dean, carrying more food up.

"Why is everyone in the bathroom?" Dean asked, giving Harry a strange look. To which Harry threw up his hands in exasperation at the strange stand-off location.

"That's it. Everyone out of my bathroom." Bill demanded and nobody made any move to leave, Fred actually moving into the bathroom instead.

"Are you back there, Bill?" Fred called almost giddy at the thought Bill was stuck. Today was a day where all of his brothers, minus himself, were mucking things up by getting themselves into the strangest situations. First Ron, then George with Ginny and Bill somehow deciding to shower with groupies.

Bill's voice was curt, though summoned clothes were flying from the drawers in the room, instead of making it to Bill, Fred had decided to catch them. "Yes, and I'd like to get out without an audience."

Luna blushed lightly and slipped off the counter and Harry distracted by watching Fred catch the flying clothes and making room for her wasn't fast enough to stop Hermione from finally ripping open the shower curtain. Bill turned quickly, his lower area obscured by some charm, but he clearly hadn't cast it over the angry scars that raked his chest around his shoulder and down his back from his attack by Fenrir Greyback. Harry took a sharp inhale and Dean dropped the tray with a clatter while Bill had to turn to catch Hermione who'd flung herself directly from the counter at him. Fred abruptly threw the curtain back around them with a swish of his wand and said quietly, "Everyone out."

There was a soft bitterness in the gentle reprimand Bill was giving Hermione, as they could hear him trying to peel her off. "Nobody sees for me either, remember, pet?"

Fred had dropped the clothes and was actively trying to pull Luna, who was simply staring open-mouthed at where the ravaged skin had been and Harry was still feeling decidedly stubborn, hearing Bill's hands rustling against Hermione's robes, undoing latches. "I still don't want you helping her wash like she's three, Bill, magical healing be damned. It's not right, she's a woman."

"Healers do it all the time, Harry. It's mostly wand work." Luna said softly.

"I'm just putting privacy charms on her, Harry, so Luna can help her with her hair and back. Since none of you will bloody hell get out of the damned bathroom." Bill's voice was sharp, indicating he would not be taking orders from anyone in his own house, including The Boy Who Lived.

Harry cowed, retreated, but refused to close the door to make sure Bill would also be getting out of the damned bathroom. Bill speaking to Luna about where she needed to be gentle for wounds, opened the curtain to step out and help Hermione lower into the bubbles. This gave quite a few more people than Harry wanted to see a show of Hermione's set of tops and knickers and her own wounded state, just blurredly visible beyond the light glamour charms to help guide Luna. Bill, upon seeing all of them stepped out wrenched the curtain shut and exploded on them. Harry's ears were ringing from the sheer volume and found himself involuntarily stepping back at Bill's size and rage as he descended on them. Harry could only focus on the image burning behind his eyelids: her bruised skin, all of the visible ribs, knife wounds and scratches on her stomach, the scar across her chest from where she'd been knocked out in the Department of Mysteries.

Bill pulled his wand on them, still blessing them out and Harry broke, leaving the room at a run, getting to the beach before losing his stomach and letting a few small angry tears slide out. How had he let that happen to her? He was destined for this awful fight, but Hermione wasn't and she was just yet another person who'd suffered because of his destiny. First Cedric, Sirius, Dumbledore, Dobby, and now Hermione. First chance he got, he was going to finish the hunt. Alone this time.

* * *

Fred was looking contritely into his tea with a silent Dean and Harry, when Luna finally came down. "Fred, how long does Muriel's lucidity potion last? Bill wants to know, he also said nobody goes into the room without his express permission, ever again. Though I think he screamed that at all of you several times, amongst other things. He really does have quite the vocabulary."

Fred managed a small smile, "Curse breakers also have a large lexicon of curse words in multiple languages, though our brother Charlie could give him a run for his money." He raised his voice to a yell that would carry up the stairs, "If she took it without an extra cup of tea about another half hour."

"Fine." Came the reply.

"Erm, Luna. How was Hermione when you left?" Harry asked, his voice full of guilt for giving her the wrong potion and for not shutting the door.

"Well, not like her usual self, rather giggly and chatty in fact. She was braiding Bill's hair, he's very good with her. She was finishing a muggle fairy tale, it sounded very far fetched from where she started telling it in the bath." Luna stated dreamily.

"Right, well that's good." Dean said taking a sip of firewhiskey and abandoning his tea all together, slightly offended that Looney Lovegood found his muggle fairytales farfetched.

Fred cheered, at the image. "I forgot to tell you two, Ginny's all patched up now, thinks she took a bludger to the head. Sounds like George had a rougher go of it than we got from Bill. And on behalf of the sake of my humble twin's life, we request that you never ever mention it to Ginny. Lifetime discount at WWW if it's bribery you want."

Nods all around. Harry gave him a relieved smile, and Fred went on, "You two both dated my little sister and I'm sure have had a spat with her from time to time. So you know she can get quite stubborn."

Harry looked at Dean and they nodded in unison. Luna interrupted, "She stranded a Slytherin outside an upper classroom window while it was snowing for hiding a liver in my bag. It was during History of Magic and everybody seemed too afraid of her to ask for his wand or try and help him."

Fred grinned slightly evilly, "Well, that's our Gin, but when Ginny was little she was terrible about hitting and we weren't allowed to hit her back because she was a girl. She'd get scolded, but we'd get whomped. Anyways, back to today's tale. Professor Lupin walked out with me and said by the time they'd gotten there everyone was in an uproar: they could hear Mum yelling at Ginny to open the door and Ginny screeching that she was going to hex George's other ear off alternating with these thumping sounds."

"Oh Godric." Harry muttered, thinking this was the girl he was madly in love with, threatening hexes and assaulting her brother.

"Turns out, not only did she not remember Bill or Charlie, but any memory including them. So while they were sorting out what she did know Ron pointed out her shoe was untied and she realized she didn't know how to fix it, her normally sweet nature became…let's say overwhelmed. She grabbed Dad's wand, punched Ron, grabbed Mum's wand and locked everyone out of the room. By the time Professor Lupin and Tonks got the door open, George had a bat bogey hex and was in a total body bind with Ginny straddling him to beat him all the better across the face with her broom with four wands in her possession was not afraid to use two at once on them to keep them out of the room while still hexing George at intervals. Mum didn't want to heal George's broken nose at first, claiming he deserved it."

"Are they coming back? Sounds like Ron's had a rough day." Harry asked though he smiled at the thought of hearing Ron's version, looking to the door as if they would appear.

"George has a 5 am shift, so I doubt it and Ron rather seemed to be enjoying the show and company, so I imagine he'll bunk there too. Mum's fussing over him like he's Merlin, he and Dad both got caught in Ginny's crossfire."

Dean was silently laughing, "She's always been a great duelist. Wait, what's George's shift for?" His voice getting more eager, "Something for the Order, right?

Fred looked at Dean and Luna speculatively, deciding how much he could say and how much he should. "We take shifts trying to protect muggle England as best we can, driving away Dementors, searching for anti-muggle cursed objects, etc."

"I've always thought George was charming." Luna said, dreamily while Dean's eyes widened in awe.

"Hey, what about me?" Fred asked in mock indignation. She just shrugged her indifference, which didn't offend Fred in the slightest.

Dean said, "Can I join? I know I'm on the run, but I can use polyjuice…"

Fred gave the only response he could, "I'll have to ask. Either way we need allies at the various safe houses, oh and I'm supposed to tell you your family is safe. We've got watch on them. I think you'll get to choose between Andromeda Tonks or Seamus' family. Luna, you and Mr. Ollivander will go to Mrs. Tonks soon."

They nodded and Harry rose wondering briefly how the Dursleys were fairing, "I don't think anyone took Griphook dinner, I'll do that."

Fred wasn't surprised when a game of exploding snap later Bill yelled down, "Fred, come up, bring the orange potion. Orange, like your hair."

Fred rose, grabbed the potion, a few others to restock the room, and an extra sandwich for her before going slowly up the stairs, feeling a little afraid given Bill's last mood. He knocked gently, "It's Fred."

There was a clicking noise indicating the door had been unlocked and it swung open a little. Bill was smiling at her though, trying to to fake defend himself as she batted at him with a pillow like a weak kitten from where she had him pinned, there were feathers floating in the air. Bill looked up at Fred and with a wave of his wand the feathers vanished and he sat up, shifting her from straddling him to sitting in his lap as he went. "Hey, sorry about earlier. It just…."

"Hit a nerve? Gave us an earful." Fred offered with a smirk, placing the tray of potions and food on the bedside table, "I know how it goes, remember? I wouldn't let George out of my sight and had that huge row with Mum then barricaded us in our old room and started rigging it with explosives. Don't worry about it, Bill. You just yelled and shook biscuits at us, didn't even throw a hex, you docile thing."

"Did you ever unrig it?" Hermione asked chirpily with her back to Fred one of her hands playing with Bill's braided ponytail.

Fred frowned as Bill passed her the correct potion, "Erm, actually I don't think so, but they'd destroy the Burrow if they find it again anyway so no harm no fowl."

"Fowl, is that a chicken sandwich for me?" She asked, swallowing her potion and reaching for it and began eating it without waiting for an answer.

Fred raised an eyebrow and Bill said, "She's getting back to normal, apparently your potion either has the opposite effect on sane people, interacts poorly with magical latches as I got rather strange myself for a bit, or it's some sort of de-aging mechanism."

"We'll test it more, I'm not sure George or I acting childish counts as any sort of proof either way. What do you mean by strange?"

Bill shrugged, but Hermione answered. "He kissed me on the cheek before hitting me with a pillow. I won the fight as you saw."

Fred smiled at the cuteness of it, "Might have just been carried away by your enthusiasm, Granger. Still want to do the rune thing tonight? Or tomorrow, I've be assigned here at your leisure, my strangely acting liege."

"Tomorrow, when it's light. I think there's a cave we can test it on, we'll need to see if Dean or Luna can read runes. This one says Harry never took the class."

Fred nodded, "Worse comes to worse, Mr. Ollivander should be well enough." She'd leaned her head against Bill's chest and he'd started absently rubbing her back. Fred sat for a moment as she made a happy humming noise, "Is there anything else the two of you need? I imagine you'll be keeping her up here until she's-"

"Let's play exploding snap, we can pretend it's the twins' room going boom." She cut in.

"Maybe exploding snap in a little while, pet." Bill's smile was indulgent, but he turned to Fred with the look still lingering, "Can you plait her hair again? I never learned how to do Ginny's and with her arm, she can't manage anything with it. I need to learn the spells to do it, I'm sure Ginny knows them."

Fred nodded and pulled the chair closer and set to separating the partially dry curls into sections, he'd only learned manually, not having been old enough for a wand when Ginny was little. The silence was comfortable and she seemed calm under Bill's back rub and Fred's hair ministrations and sounded very much like herself when she spoke next, "We should do the testing tonight, it's safer under the cover of darkness."

Then she twisted to look up at Bill and Fred had to let go of the braid not to jerk her head, her cheeks were flaming, voice small. "Sorry, I kept trying to get into your shower."

"Well, you did eventually get in and it's completely alright." Bill's answer was genuine, he gave her shoulder a little squeeze and shifted her so Fred could continue her hair.

Inexplicably she went on, her tone still embarrassed, but more school girlish. "-but I flung myself at you and you were naked and I could feel that thing that's there when you wake up-"

Oh, Merlin. Fred was trying very hard not laugh because now Bill was blushing too. Fred popped up, failing and laughing anyway. "Plait's done, and Granger that's a completely normal way for gents to wake up even when pretty witches aren't around. I'll go and check and see who knows runes."

He was backing away from the bed and out the door, popping his head back in. "Muriel goes in and out for about 10 minutes. I expect you two will be down when you're done giving her an anatomy lesson. Just don't make it too thorough, or I'll have to tell Mum."

He was not surprised when the door forced him out mid wink or the sound of a pillow hitting the door. He ran down the stairs cracking up ignoring the grumbling yells from the goblin at the noise.

* * *

George was still sleepy, despite the caffeine he'd been chugging all the way to the meeting point, not knowing exactly who'd picked up Fred's shift. He was mighty pleased to find it was a rather chirpy Oliver Wood, wand drawn. "What's my favorite quidditch game of of yours?"

"Slytherin, my second year when a bludger took out the school broom I was riding so I just kept jumping from broom to broom following that bludger using my catlike skills."

Wood grinned, "McGonagall seriously thought you were going to die and ripped into Charlie for not calling a timeout."

George grinned back, "Well, I did wake up in the hospital wing after a 6th year Slytherin chaser punched me out, but Fred would have caught me if I'd truly missed a jump. What was the Gryffindor password that I had to wait outside the common room for everyone to let me in because I couldn't say it?"

"Roaming gnomes. I still don't get that, even Fred thought you were a nutter for giggling so hard you cried every time you tried." Oliver answered rolling his eyes even as George's eyes watered with mirth, he didn't get why he found it so hilarious either, but he still did and he still couldn't say it and loved using it as his security question.

"Lady Violet was so offended, she didn't change it for the longest time." George shook his head, "Anyway, thanks for grabbing Fred's shift; operations needed him elsewhere."

Oliver shrugged, "I figured as much, besides I've got enough aggression to take out after my second blood status inquiry by the Ministry yesterday. What area do we have today?"

"Second inquiry?" George queried, scanning the galleon waiting for it show their area of coverage.

Oliver's brogue was irritated, "Yeah, all Scots are having to do them because we're not 'British enough' in Umbridge's eyes, just because several hundred years ago the Scottish wizards stayed loyal to their clans and fought with them in the muggle Risings against the crown." He rolled his eyes as he rearranged his tartan scarf, "She doesn't care they mainly acted as clan healers or that the ones that fought, fought muggle style, minus a few Frasers and MacKenzies."

"Wish we would have learned about stuff like that in History of Magic versus just goblin wars." George said. "Looks like we have East London near the channel, we're to keep to the skies and try and head off anything airborne. Intelligence thinks there might be something coming in."

Oliver nodded and checked his own galleon for the coordinates, "Better brooms than feet, I always say. Let's mount up and kick some butt."

George took off into the air, briefly wondering how Ginny would be when she woke up and glad he wasn't there to see it. Oliver had his wand out, but was riding quite close so they could talk. "First why do you have raccoon eyes? So where is Fred? It's rare for you to not be assigned together."

George pondered how to answer this as Oliver Wood had no idea that Shell Cottage existed anymore. "First, my little sister beat me up. For Fred the potion stock at headquarters is dangerously low, so they've got him brewing."

Oliver grimaced, "Glad I cared more about sports and didn't have to take elective potions. I'm assuming we rescued a few more?"

"Something like that," George moved away slightly. "I imagine it'll be covered in the next meetings. Which one will you be at?"

"Tomorrow, those meetings can be right depressing, you know? We try so hard and yet we always manage to fail someone. We've got night practice tonight because it's supposed to pour." Oliver grimaced before grinning, it was something he'd done as a coach and he loved playing professional either way.

"I 'ear you." George agreed. They were in their territory now and after a long bout of flying and scanning he did indeed see a large something that appeared to be being carried hanging from a broomstick. "Wood! Over there."

Oliver looked and they both took off in flank, wands drawn towards the object, hoping it was friendly or just a traveler. It was not.

Oliver dodged the first hex by a smooth broom roll and George shot one back in retaliation at the masked figure. Hexes flew and as another unmasked rider appeared, more hexes started flying. George managed to hit the second one, throwing him from his broom hearing his yelps as he fell. George dove under another hex thrown his way, seeing Oliver feinting while still battling the first Death Eater. Later, George would never be sure if it was a hex from their side or a purposeful spell from the other that released the giant cage of doxies and pixies over East London as the rider disappeared with a twist. He just fell into trying to stun them, ward them off from attacking himself, Oliver and following the damn things into muggle London under disillusionment charms. They were tricky, fast, liked to bite and really loved causing mayhem and the muggles couldn't see them. He'd briefly lost Oliver as Oliver tried to keep them from a muggle children's orphanage and he he tried to keep them from getting into the tube. Then from destroying the tube while running after them shoving people aside.

It was hours later that they slumped side by side by their original meeting place, Oliver's voice exhausted and his robes torn. He'd beat George and had a flask out and took a swig, "Whisky? Never too early for that after battle."

While George might have disagreed with the argument on another day he really had no idea what time it was, he gladly took a sip of the warming beverage, finding it the muggle version. He looked down at himself, his robes were torn in places and the back of his neck stung from a scratch or a bite, no telling. Oliver looked to be in much the same state, visibly bleeding from a bite he'd taken to the face and his hand looked broken. "C'mon, let's check in and get healed up. There's at least doxy antidote at headquarters and food."

Oliver agreed and George found himself plopped across the table from his brother shortly after, Oliver by his side distracted by Mrs. Weasley treating the wound on his face. Ron's mouth was full of lunch, "What happened to you lot?"

George filled a plate, "Air duel with Them, then chasing down Cornish pixies and those extra nasty French doxies they dropped all over East London."

Oliver turned his head, "Ron?! What are you doing here?"

Ron gave an evasive answer, "Eating. Why didn't you just put the lot in stasis and grab them? Hermione did that our second year to round up some pixies."

George shared a look with his old captain, "Why didn't we think of that?"

Oliver turned his head back to Mrs. Weasley's tutting over his cheek. His answer sounding dignified and joking at once. "I'd like to think we've just taken too many bludgers to the head."

George laughed, pushing the filled plate towards Oliver, seeing Ginny was there too and felt himself redden as she said easily, "Took one to the head yesterday, it's enough to knock you out of loop for awhile. Wonder how many hits it takes to get lasting damage?" She mused, "They say Ludo Bagman took too many in his professional days. How'd you capture them?"

George began filling a new plate for himself to cover his blush. "At first I tried, but then I just started blowing them up. Pretty much sounded like popcorn popping. Pop, pop, pop. The muggles kept looking around at the sounds."

Ginny gave a little laugh and smile and Ron shook his head. Oliver eye's drifted to a much more grown Ginny's smile, then away again his accent thickening at how pretty it was.

"Clumped them and vanished them as best I could. Though I did turn a lot of them into a beluga whale by accident as I was a being bitten, I'm wee certain the muggle kids saw it because there was some cheering and clapping." Oliver said, reaching for his plate, non-plussed by whatever the little muggles saw.

"If you think they saw…" Ginny started, but it was her mother who cut her off. "They'll think they imagined it, we don't obliviate children, unless absolutely necessary."

George could feel the side glare his mother shot him, but simply bent down and began to eat furiously. Oliver spoke next, "Makes sense. Ron, if you're here are the others…?"

"Harry and Hermione? Yeah, they're at Shell Cottage with Bill." Ron answered without thinking of his words this time as he bit into a piece of tart.

"Bloody hell, Ron." George said as everyone looked up in confusion at the name of the place, "Now, we're going to have to erase it again."

This time though, George was just going to call Professor Lupin or Bill and hit Oliver, his mother and Ginny with a stasis charm in quick succession. He looked at his brother in mild irritation, "Do you have the memory of a goldfish?"

"Maybe I took too many bludgers to the head, too." Ron's voice was a smarmy imitation of Oliver's and George found himself giving a light laugh before summoning his patronus for help.

* * *

A/N: So between this chapter and the next lies Bill's version of "The Day We Broke Mum". Reviews and ideas are always very much appreciated, this fandom seems to have an oddly low ratio of readers to reviews, but perhaps that's just this story! So review away and I'll try to make you smile :)


	5. Of Singing Brothers

A/N: Found a few new friends via this fic :) Here we go with a chapter (that wasn't even going to happen). Your narrators are Fred and George. The first Order meeting is up next and ready to rumble whenever y'all are. Posted without beta review. Review away, or favorite or follow! Charlie's next up on 'The Day we Broke Mum'.

 **Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive**

Fred was awoken sometime by the sound of voices outside the cave he was secret-keeper of, destined to wait until Professor Lupin and Mr. Ollivander could test the double protections by being given individual information by each caster: himself and Dean. Hermione had pointed out Bill couldn't do another Fidelius, not with their magic tied without her knowing or possibly messing up Shell Cottage's own charm. He rolled over, realizing it was just Bill and Hermione, Bill talking about the day WWW fireworks was born and went back to sleep.

When he woke later the sun was up with Bill and Hermione back again, Hermione looking towards where Fred was hidden in excitement. "I know it's there, but I can't see it!"

Bill nodded, grinning like a fool back at her, "It's holding! Mr. Ollivander couldn't get in without the second piece and with the curse of being unable to tell what location he knew…"

"It works! Oh Bill, you're so clever for putting it together." She sounded genuinely happy, peering up into his face in excitement even as she nibbled at some chocolate.

"I could have put it together faster, but somebody borrowed my books." Bill said it with a wink, and Fred gagged to himself. If they were going to be nerd flirting and he was going to be forced to watch he was going to pretend it was a muggle movie, recasting Bill as Dorian, a poor boy from the wrong side of the tracks and Hermione as Penny, the girl who-

Penny was blushing, "Sorry about that, I just..well I needed them. I've kept them in good condition and always intended on giving them back!"

Dorian smiled, "I know. That's why I let you borrow them and tried to show you some of the charms in action." Another wink. "I won't even charge late fees."

Penny laughed, "Where'd you learn of library late charges? Hogwarts didn't have them, Madame Pince just threatened to dock points."

"I've had a muggle library card since I was seven, I'll have you know." He laughed again at her startled look, "I made Dad get me one, he had one for departmental reasons. Besides, I've worked with goblins long enough to understand their version of late charges and interest. Anything goblin made, they think is theirs after the owner's death, and any charge paid late is well…muggle banks wish they could pull it off."

"You do not have a muggle library card." Penny argued back.

Fred wasn't normally into movies where nerds flirted over libraries, but this one seemed interesting enough, so he kept watching, hoping there would be an explosion soon to shake it all up.

"Three actually, London, Dublin and Cairo. Though I had to nick muggle mail and fake identities to get the other two. Those poor muggles, don't even know they're checking out books. I pay the fines though and sometimes mail them neat things I think they'll like from whatever mail I nicked."

Penny laughed in some sort of delighted horror at Dorian's dangerous, muggle mail stealing side contrasted with his sweet gift giving side. "I'm fairly certain you've broken a number of both magical and muggle laws."

"Like you're one to speak?" An arched brow, Dorian went on cockily, "I break curses for a living to steal treasure, muggle mail is a piece of cake."

"And you broke your mum." Penny said softly with a smile.

He shrugged, "Well, that was inevitable really, she was bound and determined to have a daughter despite the fact there had been no girls in the line for generations."

Fred opened a chocolate frog and began to munch on it, watching these two move closer together. Penny was looking up, "I think your sister is worth all that effort. I always wanted siblings."

"Me too. Nobody said girls are easy, and she certainly wasn't, but she was a bonny little thing growing up." Dorian offered.

"I doubt you've ever had an issue with girls." Penny said, glancing at her lap, lashes fluttering prettily across her cheeks.

Dorian was very expertly showing off his humble brag, "Well, I didn't used to, but then…" He gestured vaguely at his scarred face.

She frowned at him, "Don't be like that, you know you're still just as.." Penny blushed, "well, a few roughish scars would catch a girl's interest rather than not. Especially according to romance novels."

The wind whooshed and a curl blew across her face and Fred watched as they abruptly turned back into Bill and Hermione. No longer Dorian and Penny because Bill was tucking the curl gently behind her ear, his hand lingering on her cheek brushing imaginary sand away.

"You just don't see them." His voice was softer, huskier and Fred stared at them, his mind rallying at Bill to stop it immediately. He knew that look on his brother's face, had seen the besotted look he'd given Fleur and the girls before her. _Don't be a prat, Bill,_ he urged silently, _she's had a crush on you for ages and while we saw you staring at her over summer you gave use some noble brotherly love lecture like we were ten. I know because I was staring at her too and you were claiming to just be helping Mum keep the three from planning, but really just trying to spend time with her. Teaching her dueling or showing her stupid books, supervising Ron and Ginny trying to teach her to swim, but always somehow ending up being in the water with her on your shoulders so the girls could chicken fight. Now you're all bound up in healing, so just….just let her be. Let her be that girl again, who laughs with your little sister and makes eyes shyly at you and your baby brother. It's too fast._

As if hearing his thoughts, Bill dropped his hand from her cheek to her shoulder, but Hermione had reached up to tuck a strand of hair loose from his ponytail behind his ear, her fingers ghosting over the stubble on his chin.

Bill's eyes went from hardening to adoring, his hand going up to cup her cheek again and Fred, still behind the charm was practically yelling at him now, chocolate frog forgotten. "No! No, don't take advantage of her when she's like this. Merlin's beard, Bill!"

Bill couldn't hear him, whatever bubble he and Hermione were caught in had him bending his head to brush his lips chastely against hers. To his credit, Bill pulled back abruptly in surprise at his own actions, before her good hand wound in his hair and pulled him back down for a longer, gentle exploration of kissing.

Fred threw something from his vantage point, damning Bill. He was the older brother they all had looked up to, been compared to and had held their own often wayward moral standards to. Now he was softly kissing his youngest brother's crush for what seemed like forever and they would not just turn back into Dorian and Penny in his head.

As if Bill could hear Fred's cave destruction, he abruptly pulled pack, paling and immediately apologizing. "I'm so sorry, Hermione. I shouldn't have taken advantage of you like that."

"You didn't." She protested, reaching for him.

Bill held his distance, running a hand over his face. "I did, it's completely unacceptable and inappropriate of me. We're latched, but that means our focus needs to be on healing you: mind and body and I'm responsible for that process."

Fred was glad Bill was realizing that he was going to be sainted in Prathood for snogging her, despite the fact he was getting all noble now. Bill was always playing the hero, although today a rather flawed one.

Hermione had looked down at her lap, then up at Bill with eyes that would have had Fred back at her in a heartbeat. "I'm sorry I upset you, I know it's the latch. I'm not your usual girl. Nobody's really."

Bill still holding his stance in some unknown amount of self-restraint Fred surely didn't have, Fred knew he was a prat, but Bill wasn't supposed to be one. Bill's voice was firm, "Don't say things like that about yourself. It's not that at all, pet, but it's best if any sort of discussion happens after you're healed up from the emotional and physical trauma, if you'll still even talk to me by then. For now, we'll just focus on that, ok, getting you stabilized across all fronts? And getting to know each other better during the process."

Hermione nodded, but her hand had reached back up to Bill's cheek, touching the scars there almost in reverence. Her voice soft and tentative, "But what if this is how I get stable and heal? I feel safe with you and more…more like myself when we kissed than I have in such a long time." Her eyes were aching at whatever the three had been up to, "Just once more? To test my theory?"

 _Oh Godric's ghost_ , Fred thought, knowing there was no way Bill could hold out given his previous devious actions. Damn you, Dorian. Nobody could deny such a vulnerable little request and Fred wasn't surprised when she tentatively kissed Bill and he responded by pulling her gently into his arms. Fred turned his back on them and started dealing solitaire with the exploding snap deck deciding if they were still kissing by the time he had it all dealt out, he was going out there to shake some sense into Bill. He was most of the way through the spider pattern when he heard Bill pull away with a gasp and turned back to them, seeing the dazed look on his brother's face most men were far too familiar with. The fact they had to stop, no matter what their hormones or Merlin knows what else was telling them, they had to be gentlemen. Bill was physically disentangling her from his person, gently holding her at arm's length, taking a deep breath. "Hermione, no."

Another deep breath. "We're going to handle the magical latch bond according to everything I've read and believe me I've read quite a lot on it. There is nowhere that says kissing or becoming emotionally involved aids the process."

Fred smiled approvingly, _You go Bill, use that nerd brain of yours to turn off your raging hormones. I knew it had to be good for something other than finding treasure._

Bill was still talking, holding her gently by the shoulders, "In fact, all records state it's usually most efficiently achieved by strangers who go their separate ways after the fact. There are healers that specialize in it at St. Mungo's. We're not strangers and I'm not a healer, so I'm not going to compromise this healing process for you one more bit. We will get through this together, but under healer guided parameters, ok?"

She frowned, thinking, "And if I find a counter reference to what you're stating?"

"You'll need several, remember, pet, I've been on your side of the latch deal and am quite the researcher myself. Emotions make it harder, believe me, I know." He grimaced.

She frowned again and Fred had the urge to giggle over the fact they were bartering physical affection by talking about book citations, they were such a terribly academic pair. "For every reference, I get a little kiss after I take a potion, for purely research purposes. I'd like to contribute to the studied cases."

"No, you get a biscuit, they have calories, which you desperately need. Kisses burn them and that's not scientific at all." Bill was arguing back and Fred was silently shaking his head in frustration at how ludicrous they were being.

"I never said I wasn't eating my biscuit or some chocolate, simply setting up a variable testing methodology."

A little fox popped out in front of them, dancing urgently and Fred snapped to attention, rising from his hidden spot, that was George's patronus. "Bill, Moony. Mild memory assistance needed at headquarters. Subjects in stasis."

What on earth had George done this time? Bill was asking her if she was ok going and at her nod, simply picked her up and took off running for the apparition point.

* * *

George was humming a beat, then sung, "Stayin' alive, Stayin' alive," swished his wand popping the three out of stasis. Two beats later, swishing his wand again and beginning his hum all over.

"What are you doing that for?" Ron asked after watching curiously for a minute and finishing his very late lunch.

"Oh, I can't remember how long you're allowed to leave someone in stasis, but this is how muggle healers keep people alive. Stayin' alive, stayin' alive." Swish, mmhm mmhm, swish again.

Ron looked intrigued, "Can I try taking them in and out?"

"Sure, just sing along to our war anthem, or what should it be anyway." George stated, before beginning to belt,

"Whether you're a brother

or whether you're a mother

You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive."

Ron swished his wand and Ginny blinked and took a deep breath starting to look before freezing again and Ron started singing along, falling into the rhythm with George. They were on the second rendition of the song when the kitchen door flew open, showing Bill with Hermione. She looked at the table, then directly at the floor, Bill set her down gently besides George. He loosely wrapped an arm around her shoulders, while taking in the table, giving Ron a warning look, voice sharp, "What happened?"

George swished them awake and back into stasis again, "Shell Cottage got accidentally mentioned. They need a small about memory modification, but I didn't do it right yesterday and am afraid to blow Ginny's brain up again."

Bill relaxed, "Well that's easy enough. How long?"

Ron was staring at Hermione, who was staring at the floor tensely avoiding looking at him. "Only a few minutes, maybe a bit longer for Oliver if you don't want him to know I exist."

As Bill turned to start, George said to Hermione. "See, we were singing, because Fred and I saw some muggle healers keep someone alive to the beat when we were at the muggle hospital. Their healers can't do much, really, but we got to see Fred's insides and the muggles put their potions in pill form!"

She just kept looking at the floor while Bill was gently handling Ginny's second memory modification in two days.

She smiled softly at the floor and George rambled on as Bill flicked Ginny back into stasis, "Lee and Alicia warned us about the teeth doctors though…"

Hermione abruptly jolted and Bill looked down at her in alarm, "I think there's more magic on your side, want to try the charm so you don't get that shock again? I can explain it…"

She shook her head, tears burning in her eyes and Ron busy signaling George to shut up, missed the soft look Bill was giving her as he bent down to her level, arm tightening and his other coming toward her face to catch any tears that threatened to spill over. "There's two versions, a more permanent one and-"

Ron abruptly cut his oldest brother off harshly, "She knows how to perform it effectively, Bill. So do I for that matter."

Bill looked at her unshed tears, then back to George and gave a command. "George, take Hermione and Oliver closer to the apparition point so he can be wiped there."

George did as he was told, finding her rather hard to pull away, but she came after a small whisper from Bill, with Oliver floating beside them. Ron's voice carrying down the hallway. "She _obliviated_ her entire existence from her own parents and sent them into hiding, for Merlin's sake Bill. Then took the short memory from her mind of where exactly she'd sent them. Good Godric and George was mentioning teeth doctors, that's what her parents are. Or were."

"If you can do it, then why am I here?" Bill's voice was exceptionally tight.

George could feel the burning gaze on their retreating backs and heard Bill exhale and slip into big brother mode, releasing whatever tension or anger he was holding, "We'll get it figured out, ok Ron? Want me to handle mum?"

George resumed his tale, to cover the rest of their exchange. Nobody had known she'd done that, except Ron and Harry, but it made sense why her family wasn't on the watch list and the house sold. "See, back when we opened the shop we went into muggle London with Lee to celebrate and ended up in a brawl. You know how Fred can get riled up and when the muggles with the flashing cars showed up we got packed up right along with the rest, Fred was all bloody so we got to go to the hospital! We've been back loads of times since, just to get muggle pills to experiment with on ourselves since we didn't have first years anymore to test them on." He got barely a ghost of upturned lips, "All you have to do is say something's wrong with you and they give you these little medicines to fix it! Bless them, it's all kindly meant, but even with all their little pills they can't fix broken ribs, just tell you to bind them and wait."

Bill caught up to them, shifting her from George's arm support up into his own arms, lips brushing her temple in soft apology as he went. George noted it in mild interest, swishing Oliver in and out of stasis to give them a moment unable to hear what Bill was murmuring to her. Whatever it was she nodded and Bill rested his head on hers for a moment, whispered something else, before turning back to George. "We're going to go back until the meeting, if we're removing Ron from Oliver he can't see her either."

George nodded, giving a glance at Oliver. Bill went on, "Ron can do the charm, but it'll be easier if you do since you were with him. Just think of the last thing you want to him to remember, picture it clearly and cast softly. Then bring Ron over to Shell, Harry's anxious over him, we'll all come back to Headquarters in awhile for the meeting."

George nodded, repeating cast softly to himself. "Wotcher. Off you go then."

Bill turned and they were gone and George eyed Oliver warily, extremely nervous he was going to mess this up again, but took him out of stasis. Oliver shook himself all over, a single missed doxy shooting out of his pocket and George popped it, before turning his wand on his captain. He focused clearly on them passing the flask back and forth and said very softly, " _Obliviate."_

Oliver shook himself again and looked around in slight confusion, "Did you side along me?"

George nodded at the easy explanation, "Had to, hit you with a spell when a final doxy came out of your pocket. Patched you up myself, though, if you'd rather just go grab some rest before practice, might be best. "

Oliver nodded, glancing at how low the sun had gotten in the sky. "Jeez, wasn't counting on such a shift dealing with those damn things. That sounds great." He turned, before stopping, thinking for a moment and flexing his now non-broken hand. "George, I don't want to get your family's hopes up, but I think Perce is coming around. He expressed some concern at the ministry's new policies when we had a pint last week, as much as he loves rules and is ambitious, Percy's never been a bigot."

George nodded his thanks, glad someone was still working to get Percy to see the light and if anyone could rally someone it was Oliver Wood, Gryffindor's passionate quidditch captain and Percy's roomer for seven years. As much as they'd been different, they'd also been friends in their own way. "Didn't know Percy went for pints."

"Just at my place with the crew. He's not half as bad as you lot make him sound, unless your part of the room got messy. Kept me tutored enough to pass so I could play and occasionally looked over my set plays." Oliver shrugged, "In turn, I kept our grade off of him for being a know-it-all and let everyone think I was dating his Ravenclaw to 'not ruin his reputation' for pretty much all of 5th and 6th year and my girl didn't mind. While not blood, our year, the five of us roomers, are his family too."

George nodded, "I sometimes forget your year got along. We just took the mickey out of him whenever we could, because that's what we'd always done."

Oliver twisted his neck and rubbed his cheek, "He got the short of end of the sibling stick, didn't he? Bill and Charlie were so close and a bit older then you twins came along and he always felt sort of in a void growing up, Godric knows he was so excited to meet us all that first night. We all were completely nutters to finally be at Hogwarts and not watching our siblings go off without us."

George felt sentimental, remembering the photos Percy had sent home of all the new Gryffindors and one of him with Bill and Charlie hoisting him up like a champion in the Gryffindor common room, with the long letter. How Ginny had demanded one of them for her room claiming it was because she didn't really know any other girls, but really she'd just missed Perce so terribly. A glance out of the corner of his eye showed Ron exiting the house, "Well, keep it up with him and go grab some rest before practice. Use some doxy spray on your robes, will ya?"

Oliver grinned, "Take a shower you stink like dung, will ya? Still can't believe we didn't think of something easy as a damn stasis charm, now that I think about it. See you tomorrow."

Then he was gone with a twist and George spent a few moments waiting for Ron to come over, hands in pockets. "How'd it go with Mum? She and Ginny sorted?"

Ron nodded, glancing around moodily, though glad to be somewhat out from under his mother's well meaning thumb. "Was it this much of a mess before with the Order? I've been hidden away at headquarters for what feels like forever and it just seems seems chaotic."

George shrugged, "No idea about the first go around, but, yeah. Kingsley keeps quoting that whoever controls chaos on their side and the enemies side wins the war, from a crazy little French muggle who kept trying to take over Europe. They even put him on island prison and asked for dementors to guard him so he'd settle down. So I'm not sure it's great advice, but he's got ice cream named after him, so there's that." George sobered, "So far we're not doing great at that except we've got a secret weapon…..Fred and I mastered chaos a long time ago, so the Order's got that going for it, we're experts at causing it!"

Then he grabbed his baby brother and twisted without warning. They landed and Ron didn't stagger or curse this time, just looked up at the Cottage. They walked in silence most of the way, Ron occasionally glancing towards Bill's window, before breaking it, "Does everyone go on missions?"

George shrugged, "For the most part, yeah. We've got a few research specialists though and Mum tends to keep headquarters running: relaying messages, keeping Ginny and Muriel in line, feeding whoever comes through, etc. Though she does take more missions now that Tonks is so far along."

They were at the door and Ron hesitated and George knocked, "Who's there?"

"George and Ron. Fred, what got you in your first private detention?"

Fred's voice came back, "Throwing a popper into a Slytherin's caldron while I thought Snape wasn't looking. Yours?"

"Petting Professor McGonagall while she was in cat form on rounds when I was out of bed after hours."

The door opened, George shrugged at Ron, "Didn't know she was animangus yet, just thought it was some random cat by the kitchens. She let me for a minute, purring before popping back and grilling me about why I was out of bed."

Fred's response was a sigh, "That wasn't even detention, she was nice to you because you claimed you had a nightmare and just wanted mint tea, she didn't know any better yet. She even sat with you and gave you biscuits."

Fred cast his twin a glance, before dropping a hand on his shoulder and squeezing. It wasn't that they'd become closer exactly, just more aware of their own mortality and the chance they wouldn't get to go out like their uncles. "Harry should be down in a minute, Ron. He was taking lunch to Bill and Hermione. How'd it go? Everyone all sorted out?"

George gave his twin a glance that said, well not really, but it's pretty much ok. "Oliver said Perce might be coming around."

Harry did indeed appear, carrying an empty tray and grinned at seeing Ron. Ron smiled back, glancing upwards. "How is she? Hermione seemed a little upset when they left….is she still like she was?"

Harry saw Fred's frantic hand waving motions to not mention the shower incident behind Ron and George's confused look and said, "Well, she seemed fine enough just now and ate breakfast with everyone. She was laying on her stomach reading like she used to do in the common room after she'd get too hunched up over her tables, you know? Bill had a book on her back and was writing something."

"So, it is just me then?" Ron asked, dejectedly.

George exchanged another glance with his twin, "Well, technically I mentioned her parents today. I didn't know…"

Fred also soothed in his own way, "That room is worse than a library now, but I guess Bill's got to get his work done in time to give it to Charlie."

"He's still working?" Harry asked, "I thought everyone went into hiding?"

"Well, not under the name William Weasley he's not, but there's a guy at the reserve who took all the right classes and was hired shortly after Bill stopped showing up for translation purposes and doesn't mind the split he gets. It's not like Bill needs the money, but it helps fund the Order."

"Do the goblins know?" Ron asked, sitting down at the table.

George shrugged, "I'm sure they do, clever double crossing things, but they don't mess with wizarding wars and Bill's brought in a lot of treasure for them. I bet they almost view him as Gringotts property at this point."

"Like he's acting with Hermione." Ron stated, looking around for some sort of confirmation and finding none.

Fred leaned against the counter, "You know it's not that, Ron. I'm sure Mum's said it a thousand times as well. I'll give you the reference book if you'd like, it's just how it works. You saw him and Fleur and George and I go through it."

"Well no, he and Fleur were different. He was clingy and they yelled at each other so much that Dad was constantly casting silencing charms and Mum was hovering like mad after Fleur smacked his good cheek. They were screaming or making up, loud either way. With 'Mione…"

Harry rubbed the back of his head, shooting George a glance. "It's fine, she's a little clingy and he's just really protective, hasn't even raised his voice at her once. He keeps ordering us about like house elves, though. So, did Ginny get her memory mucked with again?"

George nodded, "Somebody mentioned Shell Cottage, so we had to wipe, her and mum and Oliver."

Harry looked concerned, "Does this happen a lot with the Order?"

Fred began the answer, "Well, Harry if we could only-"

"- remember, we could tell you." George finished, before shrugging, "Sometimes though yeah, especially for those at the Ministry, they used to get memory modifications after almost every meeting. Mum's a whiz at it."

"Which makes us question our entire childhood and just how we were raised." Fred added winking at them before making a shooing motion. "Now you two go run along and play. I think Luna and Dean are at chess and there's always Griphook or Mr. Ollivander to chat with."

They opted to leave for the beach and George let out a sigh of relief. "This morning was a rough one mission and aftermath wise."

Fred eyed the two retreating figures going down the beach. "Tonight will be worse. You know the Order is going to question them, right? We still don't really know what happened and it's been two days."

George nodded, but looked speculative all the same. "We really shouldn't do this….but who do you wager has the first meltdown? A galleon Mum cries at some point."

"No, that's a given, Mum always cries. Ten sickles on Hermione and five knuts Bill loses his temper, I'll even throw in an extra two that he hexes someone if she gets too upset." Fred shot back.

George pondered, betting was always harder, but more interesting when he and Fred had been apart. "Ten sickles on Ron losing it first and five knuts on Harry acting like a mule over whatever mission they're on for Dumbledore. My extra two is Holly, that Hufflepuff from Charlie's year never says a word during the meeting. I swear she's mute."

"Deal."

* * *

A/N: Ch 2 of 'The Day We Broke Mum' fits in here between now and the next chapter.


	6. Out of the Cupboard

A/N: Little darker, but we're getting things going. Reviews and thoughts are always appreciated, no idea how y'all are liking this so far. Your narrators today for the Order meeting are Molly and Bill.

 **Out of the Cupboard and into the Fire**

Molly had known this Order meeting wouldn't be quite like the others, had fretted over what state she would find Hermione and Harry in after Ron's breakdown and hoped seeing the three alive would help raise morale amongst their group. She'd been told Hermione was sticking closest to Bill and was having after effects of Malfoy Manor, but had not quite expected what her sharp eyes saw. Bill's protectiveness was as apparent as the distance Hermione kept from Ron, the soothing circles her eldest son was almost absently rubbing into the gaunt, bandaged girl's back as she sat very closely at his side, her hand resting in his other underneath the table. Her hair was plaited back, clearly one of the twins had done it as it was the same specific plait she'd taught them for Ginny's hair. Hermione was unusually quiet during the meeting, letting Harry talk of what he could about their mission and the rescue of Malfoy Manor, Draco's refusal to identify them, but Harry could only tell so much of their adventures and specifically this one.

Molly watched as the younger woman took several sips from Bill's firewhiskey over her tea, preparing to steel herself for the questions she knew she had to answer and saw the young woman's other hand clutch Bill's tightly under the table when Arthur gently asked the question, "We understand you were held apart and tortured for information, Hermione, and we're very sorry about that, but we do need to understand what happened. You unfortunately know quite a bit about the Order's members and activities."

"I didn't tell her anything. I didn't break." Her voice was resolute, as if this should be the end of the line of questioning. Harry and Ron both nodded their agreement.

Glances were exchanged around the table, but the only person in the room who knew what happened was her. Molly tried next, equally as gentle. "We need details, sweetheart, though I know it will hurt to remember. Bellatrix has been known to be able to extract information from even the strongest opponents."

Hermione didn't say anything, simply took a sip of Bill's firewhiskey and Molly tried again even more softly as if this was a gentler option, "An Auror, Tonks perhaps, could look in at your memories and save you the trouble of having to share what happened with everyone?"

Hermione's eyes widened in horror and met Harry's across the table, both their voices raised in sharp cries of, "No!"

Hermione took another sip of Bill's firewhiskey to try and calm herself again, though her feet were starting to dance and Molly wondered if Bill should be letting her have that much to drink. Her voice began levelly enough, "She began with insults before moving onto the Cruciatus Curse, she even tried combining that with her knife work." Here Hermione held up her still bandaged arm and a hysterical giggle came out and Bill wrapped his arm fully around her in the silent room, another strange giggle that was almost a gurgle. "Draco and his mom couldn't bear to watch you know, I think he fainted when Fenrir Greyback got tagged into Bella's game. He was told no biting, you see. He likes making people scream though."

This time the noise Hermione made was truly hysterical on a bloodless face and Molly wasn't sure whether she would dissolve into sobs or faint, but Bill had already pulled her from the table and had her in his arms, heading for the door effectively ending the line of questioning for the moment.

Harry and her children had half-risen, but sunk silently back into their seats as the door slammed, her muffled mix of words abruptly disappearing as they passed the silencing wards around the meeting and they all mutely looked at each other. Ron and Harry's faces looked so very young and so very hallow at the moment. Molly stood, finding her own legs slightly shaky in horror, she'd nursed Bill after his attack and that had been in battle not torture. She couldn't look at Ron at all after the first involuntary glance, "I think we all need a moment's break. Arthur, will you refill everyone's drinks while I make them some tea and grab her a calming draught? Or perhaps two."

She sniffled and her hands shook as she poured the fresh tea waiting, grateful for the gentle squeeze her husband gave her shoulders in passing and for the small decanter of firewhiskey he'd dropped on her tea tray next to the calming draughts as they both heard the slam of the far parlor door, muffling the sounds of distress they could hear beyond the silencing wards. When she got close to the room where Bill had taken her she heard enough detailed snippets of the words hysterically and unstoppably pouring from Hermione to her son to grasp the terrors of what she'd been through and her son's deep reassuring timbre trying to soothe her over and over again, "It'll be worse than death for them, Hermione. I promise. I promise."

Shaking, she simply levitated the tea tray to sit at the door and cast a silencing charm around the room for them. Took one look at the firewhiskey and drank a few long sips directly from the decanter herself before replacing it and sinking slowly down the wall with tears running down her face for a few moments of motherly weakness, wishing she could handle all of their fears and trials for them: all of them biologically hers or not. She would need her own calming draught to be able to support the girl. How many lives would Fenrir Greyback be allowed to destroy? How many minutes it took to calm herself she wasn't sure, but it was time to go back and get herself into a mission rotation where she could hex Bellatrix Lestrange into oblivion herself. She tapped her wand at the door to indicate there was something waiting and left, still feeling teary and angry.

* * *

Molly Weasley wiped her eyes one last time on her apron and straightened her shoulders before re-entering the Order meeting, finding them in a midst of an argument. Harry was adamant, "Nobody looks in her mind, or our minds for that matter. We've got a mission that we still can't tell you about."

Kingsley looked resolute, "We have to understand what information she might have, if she overheard anything or what she might have given up while being tortured."

"She didn't give anything up! We could hear her! We keep telling you that!" Ron shot back his voice rising in volume. Clearly this had been going on awhile.

"Bellatrix Lestrange is a skilled Legimillius and -"

Harry cut him off, "And Hermione read every book on Occlumency when Dumbledore had Snape give me those disastrous lessons my 5th year and she encouraged me to practice. I wouldn't be surprised if she practiced herself."

"She might know the theory, but without ever having it used on her, there's very little chance she was able to resist. It took Tonks months in Auror training to keep anyone out and truly disguise information." Kingsley's voice was the same logical, calming beat.

Tonks nodded silently, her hair a solemn deep gray, before adding her soft agreement. "And I wasn't even being tortured, Harry, just gently probed."

"There's no other alternative." Kingsley's slow voice was firm and Harry was rubbing his wild hair in frustration while still adamantly shaking his head. He looked like he was going to storm out of the room at any moment.

"Like bloody hell there's not!" The strident voice came from a cupboard, and Ginny Weasley folded herself out of the small space to find herself on the end of several drawn wands. Unfazed she stretched herself, cracked her back and flipped her long red hair in a defiant gesture.

"Gineva Weasley!" Her mother shrieked at her in horror, "You are not of age to be here! I warded this room myself, explain right now!"

Another defiant hair flick as she took Bill's empty spot at the table, "I've been in the cupboard since three and listened to all of the last meetings that way too. You don't ward until closer to meeting time."

There was a beat of shocked silence and she allowed herself a smug smile at her mother before turning back to the rest of the various Order members, who looked amused, shocked or annoyed at the fact it was just so easy to overhear their meetings. She went blazing on."Look, Harry in your sixth year, Dumbledore was showing you memories in something, right? Can't Hermione do that and you just look through them, maybe get the torture out of her mind and leave it out for her sake?"

Harry's face lit up, "In his pensive. You're bloody brilliant Ginny!"

Their eyes locked and nobody else in the room existed until one of the twins coughed and said, "She is cleverest of us Weasley spawn, she is."

Harry looked away and spent the rest of the meeting trying to listen to what was being said and not stare at his former girlfriend and failing miserably at both, but the meeting went on around him anyway. Kingsley and Tonks agreed that it could be a viable alternative, Holly the Hufflepuff softly adding her thoughts on the matter. Molly tried unsuccessfully to shoo her daughter out. Ginny shook her head, "I've already put a sticking charm between myself and this bench. Now what else can I help you with, Mr. Shacklebolt?"

Amused by how she folded her hands in a very businesslike manner, and how very much her spirit reminded him of a young Molly Weasley he leaned back, "I have a feeling you're going to tell me, Miss Weasley."

She nodded resolutely and pulled a galleon out of her robe, specifically a DA galleon. "You've all heard of these, I presume? Hermione made them so we could coordinate meetings without Umbridge knowing. I believe the Order also uses a variation for coordinates and message relays?"

The twins both pulled theirs out and nodded, Ginny leaned forward, her face fiercely earnest. "I had an idea that we could charm them further, to warn us and the younger kids when the bloody Carrows were coming to torture someone for no reason, but Charms wasn't my strongest subject and I had to leave school. Neville sent word they did it though!" She grinned triumphantly, "A Ravenclaw asked Professor Flitwick to show him how to charm an object so he would know when a certain girl 'he'd had a bad breakup with' was near so he could avoid her. It involves speaking the person's name three times, I don't know the other details, but wouldn't that be helpful for anyone on patrol to know when known Death Eaters are nearby? Especially, the ones trying to protect muggle London? I know we're disguised, but so are the enemy."

There was a long pause and then Kingsley let out a low whistle and looked around the table, "Does anyone know the charm?"

Negatives all around, "Perhaps one of Filius' originals, then. He always loved a challenge." He looked at the twins, "Send word to Minerva and ask her to pass it on back?"

One of them nodded, Ron spoke, his voice much quieter. "But how? Aren't they checking all of the mail?"

His father answered, "Minerva McGonagall has ordered the same Scottish biscuits she grew up on for decades. While anything bewitched with magic wouldn't pass inspection, the Order passes her messages via muggle spy means and even Severus wouldn't get between her and those biscuits. She also passes messages to other Order members at Hogwarts over high tea."

Ron's mouth made an "oh" shape and he shut it, instead taking yet another long sip of firewhiskey and glancing towards the door from which Bill and Hermione had yet to return through. Tonks grinned proudly at Ginny her nose turning into Ginny's favorite pig snout, "Now, do you have answers to any of our other problems?"

Arthur and Molly were still slightly embarrassed that yet another one of their children clearly paid rules no mind, but proud of her ideas so far and even prouder when she answered. "Well, yes, actually I do have some other thoughts."

Ron grabbed his now empty glass and got up and left the table, mumbling about the restroom and a refill, but really was stressed and not quite able to handle being shown up by another one of his siblings obvious skills on top of Hermione's breakdown. It was as if he could hear her screams echoing in his head, no matter how much firewhiskey he swallowed.

* * *

Bill had just re-entered the nearly ended meeting Ginny had commandeered while he was gone. He simply stated that Hermione was freshening up and would be fine. Distracted by what she'd told him and stressed himself, he sat down, not noticing his brother was missing or his sister was there. The issue of getting ahold of a pensive remained unsolved as there were very few and borrowing one of the Ministry's was clearly out of the question, as was getting ahold of the one at Hogwarts. Finally, rubbing his face Kingsley called an end to the meeting and some of them began to shuffle out past the silencing wards to the sounds of Ron's anguished bellowing: "Why are you so afraid of me? Why won't you look at me? What did I do?" and Hermione's terrified whimpers as he shook her by the shoulders for an answer, a mixture of firewhiskey, emotions and far too much stress causing him to break just as surely as she had.

Bill had made it to the landing and had a fist flying at his brother by the time at least six jets of multi colored light flew from various Order members and the Weasley clan and both Bill and Hermione simply crumpled, her landing on top of him. Ron tumbled down the stairs from the bathroom landing to land at his Great Aunt's feet, where she promptly bound him with ropes and sighed. Ron seemed to have gotten the brunt of the stunners, and had a very familiar bat-bogey hex appearing on his face with blood running from his broken nose.

* * *

With minor mayhem later, Bill found himself in the same parlour he'd occupied earlier with Hermione. Except this time there was no hysterical, unstoppable words and tears flowing, no terrible snippets pouring out. She was conscious again and almost curled around him from her position in his lap, but eyes as blank as if she were still stupefied from the stunners, calming draughts and who knows what else got into her system between all of the helping hands. Ginny was next to him on the couch, Hermione's legs pulled onto her lap to make room for Crookshanks who had settled on Hermione's stomach and was eyeing most of the room very suspiciously. Bill was thankful when Tonks handed him a glass of firewhiskey, as he wasn't able to move, before dropping heavily into a chair across from him with Kingsley doing the same. The twins had taken up spots on the floor and Arthur leaned lightly in the doorway, waiting to see if Molly needed any help in patching up her youngest son besides Muriel's presence. Why couldn't it have just been Charlie who'd ended up with temper issues rather than Ron, nobody had ever been mad when he'd thrown punches at Charlie. A fleeting thought, slightly resentful passed in his mind how much the youngest two must have been spoiled when left with Mum.

Ginny was the first to speak in their little quiet haven after the rest of the meeting's attendants had departed with their assignments intact, her voice thoughtful of what they'd seen between Hermione and Ron. Her voice was quietly stressed, as she patted one of Hermione's feet causing it to twitch involuntarily. "Doesn't Charlie's dragon reserve have a pensive? So they can see what sets off particular dragons after they're done trying to stay alive from dodging fire and what not?"

"I think so, Gin." Fred said, twisting to lean against her legs in the hope she would play with his hair. One of her hands obliged the unspoken request, petting him absently.

"We can ask him at the second Order meeting tomorrow, the one run half by Remus. Charlie said he'd be coming at the last meeting." Kingsley answered, with all of the missions it was now common to hold two meetings. Nobody knew everything that was going on. In case of capture situations exactly like Malfoy Manor and the current fallout.

Ginny gestured wildly at Hermione, but her eyes were on Harry. "We bloody well not! I'm not waiting that long, do you see what this is doing to her and Ron?" Another gesture, her gaze shifting to Kingsley. "And Bill to boot with everyone at his house and the Order having to rearrange shifts like mad to cover everything going on."

Harry's voice tried for calm, "And how do you propose telling Charlie ahead of time? We're all being watched, fugitives or in hiding, Ginny. The Ministry is monitoring the floo and portkeys too."

"I'll fly all night if I have to get to him, I"m faster than an owl." She said resolutely. "Though I'll need to borrow your broom, mine's all messed up."

"You'll do no such thing." Her father started tiredly, "A redhead flying out of England on a broom won't go unnoticed and I doubt there's a broom fast enough to make it in time, anyway."

"Your father is right, Ginny. It'll have to wait until tomorrow." Kingsley said tiredly, wondering if enough time had safely passed that he could apparate away and think about the points Ginny was making in private.

"There's another way." Tonks said suddenly, lighting up. "Brooms aren't fast enough, but muggle planes are."

There was a beat of silence and Harry grinned back at her, instantly understanding. "Are those the metal things they made fly?" It was a tentative question from George, not sounding like it was a particularly safe idea.

"Yes, and I have a muggle passport thanks to my dad." Tonks said grinning, before looking down at her burgeoning belly and her smile fell, "…but I'm too far along for them to let me on a plane. It's not safe for the baby, though Dad would have wanted me to go. He loved taking mum and I on muggle vacations."

"Well, I'll go then." Ginny said as if it settled the matter. "Just pop an aging potion and use some glamour spells, it's not like Death Eaters are monitoring muggle airports for magical folk."

Bill shifted Hermione slightly and the cat hissed, "Hermione also probably has a passport, though if she's brought it with her I have no idea. Harry?"

He shook his head, "I didn't get to go on Dursley vacations, but Ginny that wouldn't work. Magic and muggle electronics don't usually mix well and planes are very electronic."

Tonks was still musing, "If we alter the passport photo itself an aging potion would last long enough to get her through the gate. Then all she has to do is get on the plane and get off in Romania. Kingsley, our underage magic restrictions only alert the British Ministry when performed on Commonwealth soil, correct?"

He nodded slowly, thinking. "Yes, but she'd have to be able to get to the reserve or a magical community for transport or to contact Charlie."

Ginny rolled her eyes, "I can apparate, first time I was three. So there's no problem there."

This made her brothers smile and her father move into the room and shut the door with a backwards glance as if sneaking from his wife. "Do you really think this could work, Tonks?"

She nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, I do. I'll show Ginny all the muggle customs and can take her to the airport all the way to the gate. Even if the other side is watching the airports, they're not looking for a heavily pregnant very magical Auror on maternity and bereavement leave to be taking any vacations."

"I don't think she should go alone." Harry stated with worry, his brows beginning to crease.

Tonks shrugged, but it was Bill who answered. "There's no time to fake a muggle passport and get it in their systems, not with the breakdown between our Ministry and theirs." He held up a hand, forestalling Harry's next protest. "Even if Dean has one, you've already said it yourself that glamour charms won't work and he's on the wanted list."

"What if the reserve won't let us borrow their pensive?" Harry tried again, he'd broken up with Ginny to keep her from harm's way, not have her running directly for it.

"Then I borrow it, anyway." Ginny said easily enough, "It's not like they won't get it back."

"All is fair in love and war." Bill intoned, glancing at his still practically catatonic lap mate not even coherent enough to suck on her chocolate pop with quite an interesting expression on his face as he twirled the lolly.

Molly's footsteps could be heard heading down a few flights up and Arthur looked hurriedly at his daughter, torn with worry, but giving permission all the same knowing deep down it wouldn't matter if he didn't give it in the slightest. "Your mother can't know, but you have to promise to be safe and tell me all about riding on the muggle plane and let us know immediately when you arrive via that new galleon. You're to come back with Charlie. No exceptions, understand?"

The door opened as Ginny was nodding at her father and Molly sighed, "I'll keep Ron for the night, he's in a right terrible state over what happened, poor thing. Harry will you apologize for him? He truly didn't mean to get so upset. Ginny do you mind sharing your room with him again?"

Tonks stood with exaggerated effort, cradling her belly. "Actually, Molly if you don't mind I was thinking of asking Ginny to stay at my place tonight, if that's alright with you? With Remus on a mission and these little flutters I'm getting, I'd like to have someone around to at least eat dessert and relax with after tonight."

Molly's eyes softened, "Of course dear, you're always welcome to stay here, but if you want your own bed I completely understand. Ginny, go pack some clothes and be sure to grab some of the treacle tart Tonks is so fond of." Her voice got stern, "We'll handle your cupboard adventures later." Another look at Tonks' uncomfortably large baby belly and she softened again, "Actually, I'll go pack the tart, dear, and some of those biscuits, maybe some of that rose tea that settles babies so you can sleep."

Then she was bustling back to the kitchen and Tonks gave Ginny a large wink and mouthed, "Wotcher!" Bill sat there amazed at how easily that had been settled by his mother's sheer need to take care of everyone. Ginny obediently followed her mother out of the room with a wild excited grin over her shoulder at them all.

Harry dropped his face into his hands and shook his head, practically begging. "There are so many ways this can go wrong. Somebody please find another way."

"Tonks knows what she's doing, Harry." Kingsley said, but his voice wasn't entirely reassuring as they just had the bare outline of a plan, but there were no female Order members young enough and available to leave the country unexpectedly.

"Ok, but how exactly does Charlie come to Order meetings if the Ministry is tracking everything now, including portkeys?" Harry asked.

There was a long pause, then it got longer and everyone glanced from Kingsley to Bill. Bill shrugged, "You know I never thought to ask. He just sort of shows up. Maybe because he's using stuff from the Romanian government, he's fine. Or he pops over once he's close enough, since he's of age there'd be no trace."

"He could even be taking the muggle planes or trains. He told me he learned to drive muggle boats over in Romania, even to drive a bicycle!" Mr. Weasley said excited at the prospect. None of this cheered Harry for how exactly this plan was going to work if nobody knew how Charlie made it to meetings and how he was going to get Ginny back. Or that Charlie learned to ride a bike as an adult.

Bill spoke next, "Harry, will you grab Crookshanks? It's best time we get going as well." He glanced at the twins, trying to determine where they would be tonight, but neither of them indicated they would be accompanying them.

One shook his head, and gave a half-grin. "We've got to get our biscuit on."

The other nodded, "Perhaps some more anti-Carrow creams as well."

Their banter went back and forth as Bill and Harry left the room with their burdens, Mr. Weasley's stern voice floating back to them, "For the last time boys, you are not experimenting with Muggle poisons."


	7. Planning for Contact

A/N: Ginny and Fred are your narrators today! I try to reply to individual reviewers, and am very pleased at the person who created an account simply to send me a flame, tells me there is some emotional reaction!

 **Preparing for Contact:**

They didn't go directly to Tonks and Lupin's cozy secluded family home or the little London flat they kept, instead once outside at the apparition point Tonks turned to Ginny and gave her a thoughtful look. She'd never bothered much with glamour spells as she personally didn't need them, but right now she did need them for one very recognizable Weasley. Oh well if she messed it up, Kingsley could redo them before he left too. "We've got to make some stops in Muggle London first. Harry's right about not being able to use the glamour charms on the plane, so we'll do it the Muggle way, but for now they'll do. Hold still."

She waved her wand and Ginny felt the spells hit her, her skin tingling and then a long scarf came out of Tonks' wand and she began wrapping it around Ginny's hair and neck in the same style Ginny had seen women wear in Egypt. Tonks explained, "We'll have to do your hair the Muggle way, I don't want to charm it in case there would be counter reactions. I've done it loads of times with my muggle cousins on my dad's side."

Then Tonks screwed up her nose in effort and let her natural skill transform her into looking similar, minus the scarf and with a pierced nose. She winked, "Wotcher. I'll be playing your older, more rebellious sister who is giving you a makeover during a hens night. First stop Boots!"

So it was several minutes later that Ginny found herself standing in muggle beauty store very warily eyeing boxes of muggle hair coloring, while Tonks was surveying them happily. "We're looking for the semi-permanent or demi ones, Ginny, only 7 to 20 washes and your hair will be back to normal." She held up a deep black box for inspection.

Ginny recoiled at the color. Tonks laughed, "Kidding. We'll just do a shade of brown, I think, should end up a lovely dark auburn." Her voice dropped, "Red is hard colour to truly cover. We learned that the hard way on another Auror, she was very displeased."

She popped it in the basket and while Ginny eyed it like a snake, chose not to protest as they turned down the eye care aisle. Tonks looked thoughtfully around at her options, "Would you prefer glasses or colored contacts, do you think? I think the contacts would be more fun."

"What are contacts?" Ginny hissed back as Tonks started handing her color options that would go with her eyes. She flipped one of the boxes and started scanning the instructions. Her hiss horrified this time, "They put these things in their eyes?!"

"Well yes," Tonks was trying for reasonable, but still sounded slightly evil. "They use them for vision correction mainly, and they put them on their eyeballs not in their eyes. Aurors sometimes use them to not have to refresh glamours, I've tried them, they're not bad."

Ginny was very skeptical about the safety of anything going on your eye, but didn't stop Tonks from throwing both glasses, several colors, a bottle of liquid and cases into their basket. If she was going to do this, and do it right, she wasn't going to chicken out about going Muggle all the way. Another aisle and some light muggle makeup was grabbed for both her and Tonks and they were done, Tonks handling her pounds with ease. Back in the night air Tonks looked thoughtfully around before pushing the bag at Ginny and dragging her down the street towards another shop, this one had a mishmash of things and Tonks said, "Wander around, pick out some snacks, ice cream and wine if you'd like it. I'll have to ask on this one."

So Ginny wandered, picking up interesting looking snacks she'd recognized and enjoyed, though found much less exciting, from her Muggleborn friends and boyfriends, perhaps she could even give some to Harry and Hermione. She found the ice cream and could hear Tonk's accented voice explaining, "Do you have any movies with scenes in an airport? My little sister is flying for the first time tomorrow and wee nervous, so I'd like to show her!"

By the time they met at the front of the store, Tonks was beaming at both her and the pimply young man who was holding the two films he'd helped her select, despite the four she was holding. At Ginny's questioning look, "Remmy and I have movie nights in every month. I love the romantic comedies, though he just tends to fall asleep during them."

A slightly disturbing image popped into Ginny's mind of a werewolf who'd taken his wolfsbane potion curled up on the couch, head on Tonks' lap, being petted to sleep while she ate popcorn and watched her films. Ginny managed to genuinely smile back at her, Professor Lupin had been her most informative DADA teacher and the kindest at that, werewolf or not. Whatever Tonks and Remus' romance was like, it certainly made Tonks happily glow.

It was only few more minutes until Ginny was reading the instructions on the muggle hair dye in increasing trepidation about things like allergic reactions, scalp irritations and waiting times. Tonks was fiddling with the VCR before Ginny promptly decided that yes, she would indeed have a glass of wine to keep calm and carry on during her muggle makeover and movie session. She'd seen a movie once over summer with Hermione and had loved it, deciding muggles were rather clever at emotional story telling and had very excitedly discussed it with her father after the fact. Her mind wandered to if Harry liked going to the muggle cinema or movie nights and whether someday they might get to go as couple again.

Tonks was talking though now, fixing the scary muggle hair potion, and it was time to pay more attention than to any class she had bothered to in Hogwarts. "Gin, did you ever visit your dad at the Ministry and have to check in at the Atrium?"

"Of course, Mum liked to sometimes bring he and Mr. Perkins lunch, especially the year I was the only one home."

"Well, airports are almost the same, lots of people coming and going and you have to do a security check like your Mum did. Instead of a wand though, they use the passport we were talking about and you go through something called a scanner to get to your gate, and there tons of gates going all over the world."

"You said you would take me to the gate and then I would go through, sort of like the floo network at the Ministry? What's a scanner?" Ginny asked in confusion.

Tonks was parting her hair now and Ginny felt the soft cold glop of something hitting her scalp and Tonks fingers beginning to rub it in as she went on. "Yes, but at the gate you'll get on a plane and travel in a group, but it takes a few hours. Scanners are used in muggle security, a way to check your belongings for anything dangerous."

Another glop as Tonks swallowed with slight grief, "Sort of like Mad Eye's magical eye, but nowhere near as good." The grief in her voice lessened as more of Ginny's hair became covered and Tonks brightened, "The movie will help it explain it all and really show you! Hit that button there to make it stat."

* * *

Fred was dutifully scrawling out the messages needing to be sent to the Hogwarts portion of the Order in his tiny hand to be hidden in the biscuits George was currently mixing, when Muriel walked into the kitchen. She peered at him, seeing that he had his hair pushed behind both ears by a pen and extra quill, looked over his shoulder and said. "Your handwriting is atrocious, Fred."

"Professor McGonagall's had to read it for years, it will be fine. Want to send any message to her?" Fred asked back, trying to lighten the mood, he was even including some silly messages just to make everyone smile.

"George, I'll take a look at your ear in a moment, when are either of you seeing William next? I've tagged a book that might help that poor young girl's cursed scar. They gave her far too much medicine tonight." Great Aunt Muriel said, clearly having been given her yellow lucidity potion.

"Scars, they're all over her stomach and back too. Noticed when I saw her naked." Fred absently corrected, not looking up or paying attention to what he was saying.

He was promptly thumped upside the head by the book his Aunt was holding and George dropped his spoon, "When? What?!"

Fred rubbed his head and threw his hands up, "Not like that! Ok? She was with Bill and well she still partially dressed, he was the one that was starkers!"

Another thump, and another as Fred was repeatedly hit with the book. His Aunt's voice terse. "Explain. Immediately."

Fred ran a hand down his face, and gave a very short version.

There was silence and George picked up his spoon, "There might be something to what you were saying about too many potions, Aunt Muriel, we're just sort of giving them to her in pairs that might be too strong. Or like tonight at random and you saw how she was."

Aunt Muriel's fury seemed to fade into a silent seething and she moved towards George. "All these wars and never enough trained healers willing to help. After your mother and I patched up Ron, I saw William carry her out, the poor thing looked practically petrified. I'll take a look at her tomorrow as well if you'll remind me to take more of that potion before I go to St. Mungo's to talk some sense into those Healers they have now."

She lifted his hair, finding it was the wrong side, lifted the other side, giving where once was an ear a quick inspection. "Glad to see you're keeping it clean, it's slowly getting smaller, despite the hits Ginevra got in on it. Boys, this potion you make me…I was thinking while looking at Ron that this could be tweaked to tell if someone is Imperiused or not. It was awful to try and tell after the last time this Dark One rose."

She sat back down next to Fred, "Where's Ginny? I was hoping she'd help me with my hair."

Fred and George shared a glance, "She went to stay with Tonks since the baby could come anytime and Professor Lupin is on a mission."

"Good, seeing birth will make sure she keeps her legs shut." Fred made a gagging face Muriel couldn't see, but she went on. "Nymphadora would do well to hide that baby away if it come out like her, there's no hope for herself in these times, she's already a known changeling. I'll write Andromeda about it, tomorrow."

"What do you mean?" George asked softly, apparently Muriel was planning on a very busy day tomorrow.

"Oh, there's so few of wizards and witches like her left because they tried to hunt them down generations ago, enough hid it so the genetic trait carries on. Dark Wizards still hunt them though, thinking that just because they can change their appearance at will there's more magic concentrated in them and view that as a threat to their reigns of power. Grindelwald was famous for it."

"Well this has been a cheery night." Fred said, as he discreetly and non-verbally cast a cheering charm at his aunt. If she was going to be lucid, she might as well be happy too.

She brightened, turning to George. "Are you using my biscuit recipe, Georgie?"

George shot Fred a slightly confused glance who gave him an innocent smile in return that said everything, "I believe so, Aunt Muriel. It's always been mother's favorite."

She beamed at him, "So tell me about this girl that has Bill and Ron fighting over her, not the pair I'd expect to have the same taste. I know she's close with Ginevra and Ron."

Fred started to say they weren't fighting, but remembered what he'd seen on the beach and the fact Bill had thrown a punch so he was glad when it was George who answered, "She's the brightest witch of her age, been friends with Ron and Harry since their first year at Hogwarts, started a Defense Against the Dark Arts club our seventh year."

"You'd like her, Aunt Muriel, she's very practical. Kept us in line at school when she was a Prefect." Fred simply added.

"I'll take a look at her injuries tomorrow, I don't think you've all properly run the diagnostics. She's got at least one joint out of place and the longer you wait the worse it is to recover. Georgie you sit, I'll make the biscuits." Muriel said adding to her list of things she was going to do the next day. She picked up stirring where George left off, "Do tell Minerva to tell what's his name, that Augusta Longbottom is fine. Causing quite the ruckus as an outlaw, actually. Turning suspected Death Eaters into squibs left and right as she pleases. She said she hid an entire muggle village."

George and Fred exchanged uneasy glances, "Where did you hear that, Aunt Muriel?"

"We met for tea in the Highlands, you know I have to get out of the house to prevent you lot from driving me crazy." She said as she was charming the bowl to stir and add ingredients on its own.

Fred dutifully started another message, "Anything else, you'd like to pass on? Or share before the potion wears off tonight?"

She thought, smiling at them. "I'd like one of you to wrap the silver rattle, the one Ron hit Ginny with when she was little, for Nymphadora's baby and tell your mother I need new stockings." Then her face darkened, "Also, let your Order know I'll be coming back with Augusta's son and daughter-in-law from St. Mungo's tomorrow, so they'll need to be settled where they can be cared for. She wants them kept safely away, so there's no leverage on the boy."

Oh Merlin indeed, Fred glanced at George, trying to stem the mild panic at this non-authorized operation. "Would you like one of us to go with you to St. Mungo's tomorrow?"

"Oh no, dears." She protested sweetly, "You're wanted, I'm not. Everyone just thinks I'm a crazy old dragon who worked there for decades and with this potion it'll be a whizz." The spoon stopped stirring and the potion seemed to begin its flickering phase of wearing off, "Whichever one of you it is, stop making a mess."

Fred waited for the next flicker, apologizing quietly, piling his messages neatly. She went on, stirring yet more butter in manually now."Quite frankly, between what you've gotten yourself into over the last few days you'd be more of a hindrance than a help."

"How exactly do you expect to break two long term ward patients out, Aunt Muriel? The only place you can apparate is the lobby." Fred asked.

"For non-healers, dear, they rarely take that privilege from wands at retirement. It would be rude and slow things up terribly if there was an emergency and they had need of extra hands." It was a gentle explanation as she stirred sugar and flour in.

Fred glanced at George, wondering if they should tell somebody to try and stop Muriel from all of her plans, or simply let her go on as she pleased. George just shook the yellow bottle at him in response, indicating he was all for letting lucid Muriel on the loose at St. Mungo's, even if it was just to distract from Ginny being missing and letting Charlie get her to the meeting.

She gave a soft sentimental sigh, "If only Charlie were here, everyone always adored him and he could distract the mediwitches easily enough with all those burns. Do make sure he and I get a chat?"

The twins shared another glance, this one slightly resentful, Fred asking, "Why is he your favorite, Aunt Muriel? Not Bill or Ginny? Or us?"

"Bill and Ginny were spoiled by being first and last. You two-" Then she shook her head as if trying to clear it, glanced around, "What are you two doing up, this late? Go to bed."

George gave his sweetest smile, "Why don't you let me escort you to bed, Aunt Muriel. It's past your bedtime too. We were just making biscuits and setting scones to rise for breakfast."

She seemed pleased by the gallant attention and the thoughtfulness, she took George's arm, shooting a glare back at Fred, the crazy old bat had returned. "Don't blow up my kitchen again. I'll let Ginevra hex you if you do. Or make you practice dancing with her, she needs so much polishing practice."

* * *

Ginny let out a strangled noise of shock, staring at herself in the mirror with deep auburn hair set and dried into soft waves. She didn't look like herself, didn't look like the girl she'd seen in the mirror for the past 16 years, except she sort of did. Tonks grinned behind her. "The colour turned out fantastic! Don't you think?"

Ginny made another noise and took a long sip of her wine, pinpointing the ways she still looked like herself, same face, and the ways she didn't with just a change of hair colour and style. She didn't look like a Weasley and that was such an instantly recognizable trait that something wrenched inside her. Tonks' face fell in the mirror behind her, "It's only temporary, Ginny."

Ginny managed to give a weak smile back, "I know, it's just different."

Tonks pulled her by the hand from the bathroom, babbling at her about Hogwarts. "I was the same year as Charlie, you know, and got stared at probably just as much as Harry did when he arrived. I was the first metamorphmagus Hogwarts had seen in generations, we're really really rare. Once people got used to it, it was fine, but I never liked when we'd get a new batch of first years who'd I'd startle or had heard about me."

Ginny took another sip of wine, she'd never thought of that, or how it would have been disconcerting to her friend's bubbly personality and casual use of her natural skill for entertainment. "I had no idea. I'm sorry."

Tonks shrugged good-naturedly, "I was pretty much used to it from my childhood and it was bloody useful for getting out of trouble most of the time. Did Bill ever tell you he put me in detention when he was Head Boy?"

Ginny laughed, "No! What happened?"

"I was out of bed after hours with a friend and heard someone coming on their rounds so I did my thing into the last person I'd seen….which unfortunately for me was the girl he'd just caught Charlie snogging a few minutes earlier in a different corridor." Tonks laughter was bright, "He started lecturing at me on Charlie's behalf and I couldn't do that to the poor girl so I just turned my hair pink to show him it wasn't her and took my detention and he didn't dock points, which was nice of him."

"What did he make you do for detention?" Ginny questioned as they headed for the bedroom to try and get some sleep before their early morning airport trip. She'd heard exaggerated horror stories from the twins of Bill's manic reign as Head Boy. Only to have him become a saint under Head Boy Percy's regime of terror against innocent little pranks. She herself had rather foggy memories of Percy's discipline style as she'd been busy being possessed by the diary and then he'd been too distracted her second year by Sirius to bother her much.

"Oh, nothing bad, Bill was the best Head Boy while I was there, nice and fair. Just made me hold two tutoring sessions for younger students in whatever subject I wanted. I chose potions, because Snape scared everyone and while he wasn't fond of me, I had a talent for brewing. Us Hufflepuffs aren't know for our bravery, but I'd be damned if he bullied any kid into not taking his advanced classes and I liked helping."

"You would have been a good Gryffindor." Ginny murmured as she changed for bed, proud for her eldest brother and let the doubts vanish from her brain about the plan she'd concocted on the spot earlier. She was all in now anyway with her muggle hair and those scary things she was going to put on her eyeballs.

Tonks had already laid down and was shoving a pillow under her stomach to support it, but she looked up at Ginny. "Sure, or a Ravenclaw or Slytherin, but the Sorting Hat had a hard time deciding and let me choose. So I chose Hufflepuff. It seemed the best place for even a magical misfit to fit, since Helga Hufflepuff was willing to take the lot of us without any prejudice."

Ginny laid down next to her and thought that was the best and truest endorsement anyone had ever made for the likable and cheery Badger house. She hadn't thought she would sleep at all tonight, but with the wine and long night, fell asleep quickly and slept hard.

* * *

A/N: Up next from reviews: Ginny on a plane as well as many other things. Review away appreciated, darlins. Drop a line if you're interested in Muriel's lucid adventures!


	8. The Girl Who Got Away

A/N:Love the reviews and as requested we see Muriel on the loose. This morning is told from Ginny, Fred, Bill, Muriel and Charlie. Still getting caught up on messaging everyone, but this is a rather long chapter!

 **CH 8: The Girl Who Got Away**

It was very early when Ginny found herself being bustled into Heathrow by a similar looking Tonks, with her deep auburn haired held up by her wand, green contacts in and wearing glasses. She clutched her overnight bag and followed, feeling the grease of muggle lipgloss slide across her lips as Tonks popped them into a very short line. Tonks seemed at ease, whether from her muggle vacations or her Auror training Ginny had no idea, she was just staring around and thinking it really was like the Atrium at the Ministry. Tonks' voice was cheery, "We're next!"

Ginny was quiet as Tonks chatted at the ticket agent, explaining their brother was studying in Romania, but there was some sort of accident and 'Dora' needed to catch the next flight to Bratislava to check on him. Ginny handed over the muggle passport, Tonks handed over pounds and Ginny was given a ticket, tucked neatly back into the passport. She looked around in fascination and did what Tonks told her to, putting her bag on the security belt, walking through a scanner and collecting her items. She scanned the shops as they walked, there seemed to be the strangest collection of things being sold. It was only at the gate that Tonks pulled her back out of her own little world and nerves began in the pit of Ginny's stomach. "They'll call for boarding, all you do is show them your ticket and passport and sit down in the seat you've been given. It's very easy and you'll do wonderfully."

Ginny swallowed and found herself only nodding, her throat feeling suddenly dry. "Then I go to the reserve and talk to Charlie."

Tonks nodded encouragingly back at her, "Exactly! Hear that? They're calling your boarding group now! Go on, I'll wait and let everyone know you did it, except your mother, who will go into a complete state."

So Ginny hugged her hard and got on a muggle plane. She let the man in the seat next to her lift her bag up and found herself unable to stop touching the wand holding her hair up in some sort of reassurance that she at least had some magic left. An hour's delay of sitting on the runway due to a mechanical issue had Ginny starting to seriously worry about whether this was safe, but also to give rise to what she would do if Charlie had already left the reserve to get back to England and she showed up unannounced and unexpected by his mates. After a very nerve wracking take off, Ginny decided she much preferred brooms for flying, but found a little tray on the back of the seat in front of her. She pulled out her parchment, quill and ink from her purse to begin forging a letter. Not surprised when the leering man next to her tried yet again to start a conversation, "Calligraphy? That's becoming a lost art!"

Ginny merely nodded, her voice clipped. She was in the air by something muggles had invented that was flying without any flapping wings, and not at all in the mood for chat. "It's for school."

His face seemed to fall and she remembered the aging potion she'd taken must be starting to wear off, "Oh, still in school? Which university are you at?"

"I'm only sixteen and I've really got to get this assignment done." It was a polite, if an entirely unapologetic end, to the conversation and he didn't try to start another. So Ginny forged a letter from brother saying she could visit and he would gladly help with her Care of Magical Creatures assignment on learning dragon temperaments and duly made a start on her fake assignment, just in case.

* * *

"Chin up, Ron." George said from where he was placing a pot of chamomile tea and Muriel's usual breakfast on a tray.

"George, what are you doing?" His mother asked.

"Oh, Aunt Muriel's arthritis was bothering her last night, I had to escort her to bed. We thought it would be nice to bring her breakfast and her potions."

"Since she was so helpful last night." Fred added in his innocent voice, placing the arthritis potion on the tray.

"How thoughtful of you two." Their mother beamed at them before bustling off with her own cup of tea.

"Seriously, Ron." Fred started, "I know last night was rough, but you've joined a-"

"-Very exclusive club!-" George finished

"What's that?" Ron asked, not really in a good enough humor to handle the twins being perky. He was so embarrassed by what had happened the night before and terrified Hermione would never speak to him again. He really might have done it this time.

"Bill's be-punched club. He'll buy you a bottle of firewhiskey since he broke your nose. I just got a pint of butterbeer." Fred said cheerily as George grabbed the finished tray and they left the room.

"What'd you do?" Ron hollered after him.

"No idea," Fred called back, "I was just being my usual charming self."

George glanced at him as they took the stairs to Muriel's room, "You asked him to do it somehow thinking knowing how to take a punch would come in handy."

"Well, so did you twin o'mine, we wanted to learn the cool muggle fighting after we saw that karate movie." George shrugged in agreement and Fred shifted seamlessly to a new topic, "I'm all for sending Muriel off to go cause some mischief, it would completely against my moral code not to let her, but Georgie, you'll have to handle the aftermath and Mum will kill us if something happens to her. I have to go back to Bill's in a little awhile to relocate Mr. Ollivander and Luna."

George nodded his acceptance, saying in a whisper as he knocked on the door, "I hope Ginny's having a blast on the plane. Tonks said she got on it!"

"Come in." Came the frail voice and they looked at each other before entering to face the dragon they were going to let loose on St. Mungo's.

* * *

Ginny had definitely not had fun on the plane and was very very glad when she got to de-board the plane, landing had been so terrifying she'd clutched her previously creepy seat companion's arm in sheer terror. Now she was standing in what appeared to be another airport and looking at lines where people were waiting to get out of security. She headed for the water closet instead, wanting to see if she still looked close enough to the passport photo without her aging potion or if the photo's magic had worn off and she'd need to fix it, oh, but the damn birthdate was in some sort of system. She looked pale in the mirror as she went into the stall, pulling out her galleon to send the message. It fizzed with refusal and well, there wasn't much she could do about that so she shrugged, deciding this was just as good a place as any to head to the reserve from. So she focused hard on the entrance sign of the reserve and twisted.

She landed right where she wanted, next to the sign and the booth where someone usually waited if visitors were expected, well she wasn't expected, but also didn't think she could just exactly waltz onto the reserve willy nilly with dragons about. So she tapped her wand at the indicated spot and set about waiting, it must have been just a few minutes when there was a crack and guy even younger than Charlie appeared that looked vaguely familiar. "Hello? Can I help you, Miss…?"

"Weasley. Ginny Weasley, I'm Charlie's sister." She said and watched him look her over suspiciously and she realized her it must be her hair and said lightly, "Sorry, I'm going for a new look, we're all a little recognizable at the moment. Can I see Charlie now?"

"Oh, sorry! Of course come on in." He said and Ginny followed him onto the reserve, "I thought Charlie was about to take a vacation to come see your family."

She shrugged, "He is, but wrote to say I could come see him first for help on my Care of Magical Creatures assignment and then we'd go back together."

"He goes so often for your older brother around this time of the month," Ginny felt her hackles rise on Bill's behalf, but the guy went on with a shrug, "He uses all of his vacation time and then some. Talks about him often, I remember the two of them making all sorts of stupid bets in the common room for attention."

Ginny let her shoulders relax, there wasn't prejudice in the speech, just merely a vague aching about brotherly closeness and suddenly it clicked why he looked familiar as he was holding out his hand to take her bag, "You're Cormac McLaggen's older brother, aren't you?"

"Yeah, Duncan." He glanced at the noise a dragon was making, listening for a moment, before shrugging and heading for a central structure, "Glad the little git graduated, Mum was thinking of pulling him anyway because of all the howlers she was getting. Charlie should be at breakfast."

"They called him the lesser squid of Gryffindor. He went on two dates with my best friend." Ginny offered, before realizing it might be rather rude to refer to someone else's brother as a squid. Apparently this made his brother laugh and roll his eyes. They were approaching the small central structure used for meals, recreation and occasionally shelter from the dragons. In they went and she looked around in excitement, except nowhere was Charlie's bright red hair to be seen in the little group. Maybe he was still at his place? But the McLaggen next to her had clearly come to the same conclusion, was yelling, "Oi? Anyone seen Charlie? His little sister is here to see him!"

"Charlie left last night." It was a French voice that called out, "Said he had to get back early for his brother."

"So why would his sister be here?" some retorted in an Eastern European accent Ginny couldn't place. "Don't you think he would have waited for her?"

There was a pause and Ginny felt eyes turning to her, feeling a pit of dread rising in her stomach at all of their inspection. She didn't look like a Weasley with her muggle makeover and right now that was a very very bad thing. Dangerous in these dark times, in fact. The Eastern European drew his wand and Ginny felt herself automatically reaching for hers in response. This was certainly not going to plan.

* * *

When Bill had awoken rather late in the morning, Hermione had not been curled in his embrace like usual, she had instead curled to where she was just out of reach of his extended hand. When Harry brought them breakfast, she hadn't said anything other thank you and push food around her plate. Concerned, he put the breakfast trays aside and gently probed the bond of magical healing that tied their magic into one continuous loop instead of two separate ones and found it blocked, a little kink in the flow.

He settled his back to the wall on one side of the window, mirroring her position on the other side, probing gently. "I can feel you pulling away from me, that won't make this go any faster."

She gave a small sound of derision and he reached a hesitant hand, watching her move hers away for the first time. He tried again, "Are you still upset about last night? About what happened at the Order meeting? I'm not sure how much you remember, but we have a plan for tonight that should help get the memories out."

"I remember everything, though it's clearer before you punched Ron in the face and I was given every potion known to Merlin himself. That's not what I'm upset about from yesterday." Her voice was politely distant yet annoyed.

He racked his brain for reasons, yesterday had gone really well until the meeting, exceedingly well. Oh, that. "Hermione, I'm sorry I kissed you, I know I was completely out of bounds, but you'll have to let the magic rebalance to heal."

"I have to let you back in, you mean." She said softly, almost sadly.

"That's how it works, pet." He responded lightly and reached for her hand, this time she let him take it before pulling it back. He was sorry he'd kissed her on the beach, then gone back on his word and kissed her again when she'd been so upset. "What if I don't want to?" She said softly again, determinedly, not looking at him.

That stung, but Bill swallowed the piercing shard. "I promise I'll behave."

"Can't I just re-latch or something to someone else, anyone else? Ron even?" Her voice was desperate, almost pleading.

Bill shook his head, leaning back to look up at the ceiling trying and failing to keep the hurt from his timbre, she'd rather be terrified by Ron and shaken like a rag doll than have to spend any more time with him. Perhaps he really had been a touch too rough last night, though she'd stopped crying and they'd both just ended up shaky and breathless in the parlor with Fenrir banished from their minds. "I'm that awful, huh? There's no re-latching, we know that much from House Elf lore."

"You're not awful at all…it's just…" she faltered emotionally before switching topics, "What are you talking about house elves for?"

He glanced at her aside, "Probably not in your books on elf rights, but this magical latching comes from how the partnership between humans and house elves began. It's from their history, many generations ago when house elves were a new race it was just between house elves, sort of a marriage rite for them, but a wizard came across a hurt house elf named Latchey. As he nursed her back to health she latched onto him and his family, tying her magic and her life's work to their house. She's the common ancestor of most house elves today and what changed her magic changed all of her descendants, same with the wizard, though in a different way. He was supposedly one of the three brothers in the Deathly Hallows, so witches and wizards still heal magically from traumatizing events and house elves feel very loyal to their families and their happiness."

Hermione let out a very shaky breath at the mention of the Hallows and was fascinated by this new view on house elves. "Thank you for telling me that, I'd never heard it."

"Not many people ask them about their history, but they remember it. I spent a lot of time in the kitchens at Hogwarts, one of the best places to study because of all the snacks. They know a lot of goblin history too." Bill said, but she made no reply. So he went resolutely on, "You're going to have to at least talk to me, pet. The magic is starting to itch and I can tell you from when I did what you're doing now it gets ugly when it starts to burn. Yell, if you'd like even. Godric knows I practically turned into a poltergeist from the flow of magic getting messed up."

He looked at her to see she was looking at her lap, at the still bandaged, still bleeding arm in thought. Slowly her words came out, a soft, painful confession. "Bill, if I let you back in then…we're close again and that will make it all worse when it's over. It will be so different. I can't just keep falling…"

She couldn't finish and trailed off and Bill leaned back to look up at the small shells at the border of the ceiling, letting out a deep breath and trying to give her what little privacy they had left in this brief magical tie. He had a decision to make and found it was already made, she'd been flitting in and out of his thoughts during and since this summer at the Burrow before the three ran off as Death Eaters had descended on the party for Remus and Tonk's baby announcement. His voice was just as soft, "It will be different when we're not bound, but Hermione if it helps… I've already fallen. So go ahead and keep falling, I'll be here waiting to catch you."

When he could look at her, he let out a breath to find her staring at him in disbelief. He gave her a grin that came out half a grimace and made an indistinct gesture with his hands. "Wasn't hard to really, we're just similar and just different enough it was bound to happen. It was starting already at the Burrow. Merlin knows when Mum asked me to help keep you three from planning, I always managed to snag you, under some various pretense of showing you a rune book or curse breaking, didn't I? We're not strangers, you know, and likely without this latch I'd never have said a word. For you, maybe it's just now we're spending all of our time together. In which case, I would be taking advantage of you. I know your preferences from food to books, the different faces you make - my favorite is your 'I'm pretending to be annoyed but really am amused' face just for the twins."

"I don't believe knowing my favorite book and how I take my tea or that I don't like your mum's peas, but eat them anyway, means what you're saying. It isn't anything, really, anyone at the Burrow would know those things." She was inching towards him on the bed, trying to talk herself out of this wild hope that someone like Bill would have noticed all of that about someone like her.

"You'd be surprised, Fleur never did realize I don't like coffee. I noticed over the summer we both do the same puzzles in the paper every morning." Bill said.

"Everybody does those. Even if we did have races to see who could do them faster." She was inching closer and he was too, but he shook his head in the negative.

"You would pretend to read under the tree while we played quidditch, but I know you were watching because you were afraid we would fall and strangely terrified you'd be hit by a stray bludger."

She let out a small gasp at his little rumble of laughter, and whacked him. "It could happen."

"They're charmed to attack people on broomstick, besides you had the twins playing beater. Think they'd let one get to you?" He was amused, but sobered. "But I stand by my earlier stance, the focus right now is on getting you healed. I really am sorry about last night, I just…well I wanted to handle all of that pain for you. Especially, anything regarding to Fenrir and you were so upset and I just wanted you to feel like yourself. Plus, I thought I might start destroying the room I was so angry."

She threw her legs over his lap and his arms settled into their usual place around her and he felt the magic fully swing back into their healing exchange, his giving and hers taking, the little kink gone. She reached up and touched his jaw, making him look down at her. "But you said there's a plan for my healing tonight. So I should be fixed!"

"No, pet. Not until you're really ready."

"I've had a crush on you for ages, ever since the World Cup." She argued, "So it started for me earlier too. Please? You even just admitted it helps me feel like myself."

Her face was so close to his, so open with emotion and need that his self control lost the battle and he closed the small gap between them. One more kiss wouldn't hurt, said that hormonal teenage part of his brain that flared close to the moon. Just a little peck on her cheek, well, just the side of her mouth really.

* * *

Muriel looked down at her list, scanning it one last time as she and George were taking a 'stroll around the garden' while he was really taking her directly to the apparition point where Fred had supposedly already gone to begin resettling some of Shell Cottages residents. "Georgie, how long will I have? You'll get into contact with Augusta for me, won't you and let her know her son will be coming? She's with the McLaggen's in the highlands."

He thought carefully, "To be honest, we're not positive Aunt Muriel. Just keep drinking chamomile tea and when you start to flicker take another potion, we've never tested it for a whole day. Yes, Fred or I will definitely do that before I give Mum your letter."

She nodded and looked back at the last thing she'd written the night before as they joined Fred. "Last night you two asked why you're not the favorites?"

The two twins shared a glance before Fred nodded, shifting his weight slightly in tension, she'd known they had always been wildly popular at school and with the majority of their siblings. Muriel debated for a moment on whether to really tell them, "It's not the explosions or blatant disregard of rules, loves, it's that…well you're aware I left St. Mungo's shortly after Ron was born to help Molly with you all. I had to, because the uncles you're named for, the uncles who you two so resemble in your irreverent manners had just gone out taking a chunk of Diagon Alley and a bigger chunk of your mother's heart with them."

George looked away, his eyes with a suspicious sheen to them. Muriel gave his arm a squeeze, Fred was still shifting his weight, still staring at her with those burning bright eyes he got when riled. "When people look at you and see who've they've lost, it's hard to be a favorite. Merlin only knows how hard it all was for your mother with the two of you running around like gnomes causing mayhem just like they'd done when she was wee herself. Now both of you, give your Great Aunt a kiss on her cheek and wish her a good day."

They did, Fred straightening, his voice fierce and a little tight around the edges. "Give them hell and then some, Muriel."

George added his agreement, "Cause some mayhem and mischief for us-"

Fred "-and you better come back in one piece because while we can't be-"

George finished for them, "-your favorites, you're ours."

"-Especially since we've gotten to know you." Fred threw in, always loving the last word.

She felt her own eyes tighten for a moment, seeing both Fred and George and ghosts standing there and could only nod before twisting herself directly into the lobby of St. Mungo's. She marched to the welcome desk and could almost see the welcome witch recoil and briefly wondered how it was so easy for everyone to forget the rest of the life you lived before you just got old. "I'm here to see Head Healer Beecham."

The welcome witch was polite enough, "Let me check his calendar, Madam?"

"Healer Prewett, will be fine. I'm sure he'll make room for me, I did train the man and do need a word right this moment." As old as she was, Bliant Beecham was one of the last to fully apprentice under her and one of the fastest to rise to through the higher ranks. She'd been a Head Healer too in her time, but with her precious time schedule there was no point making a fuss about titles at the young thing,

The welcome witch apologized softly and Muriel leaned over the desk slightly, seeing that he was indeed free and the location of his office. "I'll see if he has time. I'll send him a quick word, right now."

"You just let him know I'm on my way." Muriel said and began marching her way towards his office on the fifth floor, not particularly caring if parchment beat her to said office or not. It apparently had, as he was waiting for her. He helped her in, gently by the elbow and sat her, "Would you care for some tea, Healer Prewett?"

"Chamomile would be lovely, Bliant dear."

He set about making it and she glanced at the clock, so far she still had about a half hour before she needed another dose. Perhaps she shouldn't have started off the morning with writing Andromeda and leaving a letter for George to give Molly absconding the twins from any of her deeds. He passed her the tea and she took a sip, they hadn't exactly figured out just how long or how effective it was in extending the potion, but knew it was a key ingredient in making her feel like the younger woman who'd once roamed and ruled these halls with an iron fist. "Are you here for a visit? Or is there something I can help you with? We do so much appreciate your donations to St. Mungo's."

She smiled eyeing him for any signs of being under the Imperious Curse, "Oh I'm here for both. I wanted to see how you were doing with such a meteoric rise. I also understand there's been an uptick in healer needs. I know my dear great niece is considering the profession."

He nodded, but still sounded slightly guarded. "We've got quite a lot of interesting injuries coming through, especially in your old trauma ward."

"I've also been told by an old friend that St. Mungo's is no longer treating muggles who need magical healing. I told her it must just be a rumor, surely St. Mungo's would never turn away those in need of specialized treatment."

He shifted in his chair here, "Unfortunately we have to, there's not enough healers to serve everyone."

She gave him a piercing look and thought for a moment, glancing quickly at the clock again. "I assume it was Ministry ordered and not merely a decision made by the Council of Head Healers, such as yourself?"

He made a hem-haw sound, "Healer Prewett, you know I would never vote for such a thing."

"Exactly." She said and decided she might as well just take one of the other potions from her purse and take it early to be on the safe side. She needed all of her wits about her for this conversation. She set it next to her tea. "The Bliant Beecham I recall working with was quite adamant about treating everyone, most especially the muggles who were accidentally in need of magical healing."

He shifted again, "Times have changed and we must treat those we can."

"You've changed." Muriel said, sipping her tea. "I believe during the last war you were quite vocal that the Healers weren't doing enough, weren't involved enough in helping."

He said nothing, simply stared at her then back into his tea. She went on, "Bliant, they can't get a single healer from St. Mungo's to help and or even smuggle supplies and desperately needed potions for the ones they're trying to treat. The ones who you're now turning away. Most of the healers are under your supervision I believe?"

"Healer Prewett, I understand your family has ties to what Dumbledore was trying to do, but I cannot ask my Healers to risk their lives, families or our patients." It was a formal speech, probably the one he'd been giving those Order members trying to talk sense into him.

"You can and you will, Bliant, because I can tell you doing nothing won't save you or your family, either way." She threw all the fierceness into her voice she could as she glanced at the photo on his desk of his wife and children.

He shook his head, "I am sorry you've incurred losses during both wars, Healer Prewett, especially within Molly's family and her children's health. I was always fond of her at school."

She shook her head back at him, primly taking a sip of her potion. "Bliant, I wasn't always Healer Prewett, you'll be too young to know that, though."

"I'm sorry I don't recall your maiden name." He was still speaking formally, his tea cup empty.

"It wasn't my maiden name, and I'm not fretted over the Weasleys, they keep their own well enough." Muriel said, leaning back in her chair, letting the memory rush over her. "Just as I once taught you the ways of the wand, of gentle hands and sharp eyes, I too was apprenticed, largely abroad in Switzerland during my specialization period."

She took another small sip of her potion, an old pain she hadn't spoken of in many decades flaring. "I hadn't been married for more than seven months when Grindelwald decided to come after my husband, he was a true Seer. Pour yourself some more tea, Bliant, your hands are shaking like you're seeing your first trauma patient."

He did and she sipped at her own, waiting, before going on. "Jan refused to say what it was he Saw and by the time Grindelwald was done torturing him, I couldn't even help him. At least Grindelwald did it in person," It was callous perhaps, but oddly comforting to know her husband hadn't died at a lesser hand. "That blood replenishing potion used so often here is from my efforts to save Jan, a legacy for him born from my grief."

Bliant swallowed and looked away, "I'm sorry for your loss, Healer Prewett, but there really isn't anything I can do."

"No," she said swallowing thickly herself for a moment and pushing the grief back into the past, where it belonged. "But there is something I can do, I truly wasn't hoping to have to force your hand in the matter, Healer Beecham."

He looked back at her and she held up her potion bottle from the twins, "I own the patents for six of your majorly used trauma potions and the rights to whether they are allowed to be brewed or not until I'm out of this world." She began ticking them off her fingers, "Blood replenishing, Heart Hopping, -"

He cut her off, anguish and horror in his voice. "-You wouldn't!"

"I would."

"People would die!" He argued.

She shrugged for effect, knowing she wouldn't actually do such a thing, but now was not the time for him to think she'd become soft. Now it was time to unleash the dragon that she'd become to help run this hospital, to guard her heart after losing so many. "People die every day, Bliant. You've seen it, I've seen it. Our job is to try and stop it. If I pull the patents would any more be dying than the ones St. Mungo's is refusing to treat? The supplies you've ordered your healers to hoard so that those being tortured can't heal? Tell me how it's any different than the decisions you're making?"

There was a long silence across the table, his voice pleading. "You'd be breaking the oath you took when you became a Healer."

"I stopped giving a damn about oaths when one of my brightest apprentices did." It was harsh and Muriel hadn't exactly always kept her morals in line with what she was trying to instill in young Ginevra.

He sighed and Muriel took another sip of her potion, watching his internal struggle cross his face. He was weighing the lives, triaging the situation to decide who could be saved and who couldn't. Perhaps even testing his own loyalties. His voice was shaky as he accepted, "We'll help, I' can't promise treatment within these walls, but tell me what do you need?"

So Muriel began to shift the tides of the war.

* * *

Charlie appeared, noting he was distinctly farther from Shell Cottage than last time he'd been, Bill must have moved the apparition point for some reason. He was hoping it was Bill who was here and would be making lunch, if not he'd could at least grab a cat nap before the meeting. He'd been traveling since yesterday evening to get everything the twins asked for and the package Fleur said was for Bill. He knocked, but found no answer and went in. "Bill?"

No answer, which was unusual, there was always someone at Shell. He pulled his wand and slowly made his way around the lower story, everything looked normal. Up the stairs, he paused outside of Bill's room, hoping Bill was just having a nap himself. He heard a small noise from inside and figured Bill was murmuring in his sleep again, so he eased open the door not to disturb him. Bill had been sleeping terribly according to the letters they exchanged.

Charlie certainly did not expect to see Bill with a little feminine arm wrapped securely around his shoulders in the midst of a serious snogging session. "Whoa, sorry Bill!"

He started to back out of the room as Bill whipped around revealing his companion. Charlie's was voice louder this time completely startled at his swollen lipped companion, "Hermione?!"

"Oh bloody fuck. Get in here and lower your voice, Charlie." Bill commanded, looking anxiously at the doorway as if a stampede of angry hippogriffs were going to come after him.

Charlie all but slammed the door and cast a silencing charm at it, before bellowing, "What in Merlin's name are you doing, Bill? She's just a kid!"

Pause, feeling the glare he quickly added. "No offense, Hermione, I should have said Bill's an old troll."

She was scrabbling from the bed and Charlie shut his eyes at the fact she was wearing Bill's t-shirt as sleepwear, nervously trilling, "I'm going to have a bath."

"Bill?" Charlie said, watching his brother run an aggravated hand through his wild hair as the water started running. "Care to explain? Also, what is she even doing here?"

"Sit down, Charlie. I'll explain, but you'll hear it again at the meeting tonight. Harry, Hermione, Ron amongst others were captured at Malfoy Manor and managed to escape to Shell Cottage." Bill smoothed and retied his hair back into its usual low ponytail as the water could be heard starting to run.

Charlie sat, throwing himself so he was straddling the bedside chair backwards, a sinking feeling in his stomach. Bill's voice dropped lower with a glance at the bathroom door, "Hermione was kept back and tortured, I'm the first person she saw when safe…so we've gotten quite close."

"I can clearly see that, but oh Godric." Charlie's voice had started agitated then softened and he ran his own hand through his own longish hair in thought, "Bill that makes it worse, she can't be in her right mind yet. I know you've had this huge thing for her for awhile, but she's going to think you took advantage of her."

"I am not!" A voice called from the bathroom and Bill and Charlie exchanged glances, the still slightly raspy voice came again. "Bill, will you help me with my hair in a minute?"

Charlie raised his eyebrow at his brother, she went on. "Or just send Ginny since Charlie brought her."

"Why would I have Ginny with me?" Charlie asked his brother in confusion.

Bill's face went white, he'd completely forgotten and the crashing noise from the bathroom and resounding smack of someone falling hard onto tile indicated Hermione had come to same conclusion. Still white faced, he rushed to the bathroom throwing open the door, to find that Hermione in her rush to get out had taken down the shower curtain and had fallen hard back into water rapidly turning red. Bill pulled her out, "Hand me a towel will you?"

Charlie, eyes quickly averted groped for one and passed it before retreating into the bedroom to wait. Fred opened it a moment later, "What happened? I heard a crash from outside."

"Hermione fell in the bathtub," Bill said, carrying her out and setting her on the bed, "Let me see your ankle and you reopened your wrist again, pet."

"How'd it go with Ginny, Charlie?" Fred asked eagerly and Charlie wondered if he saw what Charlie's eyes could, the doting softness Bill was coddling the girl with. Fred followed his glance and gave his brother a half shrug. "Focus, Charlie. Or actually, maybe Ginny wants to tell everyone? She would want to tell us of her great adventure!"

"Why does everyone think I've seen Ginny?" Charlie asked again.

Fred's face fell, "You didn't….you don't have her? Godric, Bill what if she didn't make it to the reserve?! What if the muggle plane went down?"

"Why was Ginny coming to the reserve if I was coming here? Nobody sent word to expect her and why on earth would she be on a muggle plane?"

There was a long beat of silence, Hermione's voice choked. "Because of me, because I got upset at the Order meeting last night and we need a pensive. There was no way to get you word in time and so Ginny flew there early this morning via muggle means to catch you, borrow the pensive and come back with you. She didn't want to wait for the next meeting you could come to."

Charlie ran a hand through his hair thinking, "It would have worked, but I had to leave early last night for supplies. If she took the first flight she'll have already made it to the reserve. They'll take care of her and keep her until I'm back. I'm sure she's fine." He repeated the last part to reassure everyone. "I'm sure she's fine, probably helping feed the baby dragons with Duncan. They'll let her stay at my place."

Hermione curled her face directly into Bill's chest, throwing an idle frustrated kick that almost dislodged her towel and Fred dropped his face into his hands for a moment. "Hopefully, Dad got word that she at least made it via galleon. He hasn't raised the alarm that he hasn't yet."

"The galleons don't work at that distance, Fred. Unless you've fixed them." Charlie said softly, "It's Ginny, she made it to the reserve and she's fine. Maybe one of the dragon tamers will help her make a phone call back to…well to whoever in the Order has a phone. Ralph and I were working out a phone tree for his parents if the need arose."

"She wouldn't know the number and I don't think Ginny's ever used a phone." Bill said, deciding to adjust said towel and add a blanket for good measure.

"She did at my house, to call Dean." Hermione said softly from against Bill.

Fred's voice was resigned, "We'll have to wait and see. Mum is going to kill us though, and Dad, then wait for Tonks to have her baby then maim her for life for helping Ginny go off like that using her passport."

"That seems a little dire, even for Mum." Charlie tried to joke.

"You have no idea how much you've missed over the past few days, freckle face. C'mon, I'll catch you up and take a look at those supplies you were bringing us." Fred said in attempt at normalcy to pass the three hours until the meeting. "Yell, when it's time to do her hair."

Charlie rose and followed Fred down the steps, Fred pausing and listening. "Good, Harry's talking to Griphook, of the mighty Goblin race, so we can talk."

Fred set about tea, "So what exactly did you walk into?"

Charlie was a terrible liar and everyone in the family knew it, he felt the blush rising in his neck. "Oh just found out about everyone and the magical healing latch…"

Fred shook his head and grinned, "Do me a favor and tell Bill to stop being a troll and definitely not to kiss her in front of the window like that where anyone can see. Or just to get some curtains."

Charlie took his tea, "He's under the impression it's a big angsty secret and everyone will think he's taking advantage of her."

Fred rolled his eyes at secret, "Well everyone else will because he's being a selfish prat. She's had a crush on him for ages. He's got the full moon in two days, so we need to figure out how to manage her separation anxiety for it so he can go on his restless cardio kick."

Charlie decided to set that issue aside for the moment, it wasn't as if Bill had a terrible time with the moon, just ate a little differently and was always up all night working out and going back and forth between wanting to be with people or alone reading. Instead he asked, "Who else knows?"

Fred gave an overly dramatic sigh. "I know, so naturally George does. Muriel suspects feelings on his side at least and Mum's eyes miss nothing. She was watching them like hawks at the Order meeting and Bill punching Ron when everyone else threw hexes like normal people didn't help matters. Ron is not taking the latch thing well at all, Hermione freaks out around him and nobody knows why."

"Bill punched Ron?" Charlie asked in mild wonderment.

"And Ginny forgot you and Bill existed. Like I said, you've missed a lot and that's just Weasley stuff, not even what the other Order members have been up to."

"Talk away."

So Fred talked until Hermione shuffled down for tea, for once letting Harry not be her house elf, and happily took the package back for Bill, if Charlie had known what the package contained he might not have let that happen.

* * *

A/N: Let me know if you'd prefer more B/H, Muriel or other narrators in the next chapter. Ginny's adventure is in full swing already!


	9. Of More Arrivals

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews, desnoir, there's a line in here just for you. I've also updated The Day We Broke Mum. Today you get Muriel, Fred and Charlie spying on things they shouldn't and George. Oh, and Ginny of course, this piece was written for you all on a plane.

 **Ch 9: More Arrivals**

Muriel stepped out of Healer Beecham's office much later to see a man quickly walking away with the distinct air of having not been doing anything he wasn't supposed to, the same thrown back shoulders both sets of twins used when supposing innocence. He was up to no good, so she threw her voice out, making it her frailest old lady like tone. "Excuse me, young man?"

He turned, almost involuntary at it, feet still rushing away and she caught sight of his face. Muriel felt the blood leave her own in recognition and she watched from afar as her wand slashed the air and he hit the ground from the non-verbal stunner she'd just thrown, it was as if she wasn't even in control of her own body. She rushed down the hallway to him and flung open the nearest door, feather-lighting him in after her. She ripped open his left sleeve at the wrist, confirming her fears, he was indeed a Death Eater and exactly who she thought he was.

She looked around and realizing she was in a potions closet, started scanning the shelves, wishing she had her glasses. There it was: silencing potion, very rare and used only on Unspeakables and Aurors when they came in with injuries, to prevent them from saying anything they shouldn't. She forced his mouth open and poured it down and then she flickered into her old mind.

She was kneeling over a shrinking man and looked around, seeing the matching bottles, felt her healer mode kick in and grabbed several more and began to force them down his throat and spoke to healers who weren't there, "Must have taken too much skele-grow on accident. We'll have to get him to his normal size before it's too late."

After a time, she flickered again and realized she had a half-sized murderer under her and paused, grabbed for her bag and pulled out her extra potion. She must have forgotten to finish the one she'd been taunting Healer Beecham with to get him to sign the, unbeknownst to him, magical contract. She chugged this potion and debated her options. If he'd been listening in on her conversation then St. Mungo's and their healers were surely in dire danger and even if he hadn't she was planning on breaking out two patients, and either way she was giving the little bastard to Molly. Making up her mind she threw binding ropes from her wand, groping through his pockets for his own and hit him with an extra stunner just in case before casting a disillusionment charm on him. She'd handle him after she got the Longbottoms.

She left the potions closet and locked it, oh yes, she'd give him to Molly to deal with, but this wand. Snapping it surely wouldn't violate the Healer's oath she'd taken and with a very satisfying cracking sound she broke it into as many pieces as she could as she marched towards the long-term ward. She slid it into her pocket as she entered, "Oh hello, dear. I'm here to have a visit with the Longbottoms."

The witch looked up at her, brows creasing so Muriel blazed over her, rambling as if she was indeed senile. "Are you the new Healer for this ward? I thought I'd drop by on my way out and perhaps play some checkers. I've been friends with Frank's mother ever so long."

"Oh, I've been here for several years." The homely witch answered before turning to a golden haired man who was coming to show her something.

Muriel caught sight of Frank out of the corner her eye and said, "Oh, sorry dear. At my age, memory is a fragile thing. Perhaps it's been a rather long time since I stopped by. I'll just go over to Frank and Alice, would you mind if I popped up privacy curtains? Frank was ever so fond of me when he was little."

Distracted the witch of the ward answered, "Go ahead. Why Gilderoy, that's such a lovely drawing! Why who could it be of?"

"I wanted to draw me! I used one of my photos!" Muriel abruptly tuned the conversation out, not caring, and with an oh so familiar flick sent the sound buffering privacy curtains around the area where the insane Longbottoms were sitting together watching wizarding chess play itself. She eyed them, before throwing off the anti-apparation charms put on long term patients. "Hello, my dear Frank and Alice."

They smiled at her and Muriel grabbed one of their wrists, reading the diagnostics spells hovering above it to gather which potions her twins would need, before saying. "Oh we're supposed to be quiet? I see. Let's play a little game of checkers, then. But first, give your Great Aunt a kiss and wish her a good day."

They both obediently rose and reached for her, and as soon as she had contact she twisted rapidly, taking them to the first true daylight they'd gotten to see in years.

* * *

Ginny had her wand at the ready when a familiar voice popped up and gave her time to thank Godric that Charlie and his best friend from Hogwarts were as close as Harry and Ron were, following each other even to dragon reserve. "Wait! If that's Ginny Weasley, I'll know, been friends with Charlie for ages."

A pause and Ginny waited for the Eastern European bloke to lower his wand first, Ralph left his breakfast to come towards her. His voice loud enough to carry, while his eyes searched for the Ginny he knew under her muggle makeover. "How did I celebrate my 13th birthday, Ginny?"

She felt herself flush, "I threw you a party when you came with Charlie to visit after you two had a sleepaway at your house."

Ralph gave her a tiny grin, but the man who'd drawn a wand on her was adamant. "What kind of question is that?"

Ralph shrugged moving subtly in front of her in case hexes started flying, "I'll ask her to elaborate. Ginny, who was at my party?"

She tried to push the blush away. "Everyone in the family."

There was a rumble and she saw a wand start to flick, but went on feeling herself blush furiously again. "Even the gnomes came, they brought you my daffodils."

The wand went flying in the air and she realized Ralph had done it, he hugged her, "It's Ginny Weasley all right everyone! Ginny and her gnomes were very adorable when she was a tiny chit."

He let go and turned to the Eastern European, "Now now, Vlad, you should have waited or at least realized I'm the faster draw even with my back turned." He turned Ginny and took her bag, throwing an arm around her shoulders as people started to laugh and tease, "I'll take her to Charlie's, but for the record, Vlad, if you had stunned me she would have bat-bogeyed you into the beyond."

Good natured laughter followed them out and a few calls of wanting to see that happen. As soon as they were outside though, Ralph's cheer fell away, "Why are you here, Ginny? Did they send you for protection or into hiding?"

"I'm here because Charlie said he'd help me with my assignment for Care of Magical Creatures and take me back with him, Duncan said he left early though." She tested out the lie she'd told Duncan McLaggen.

"They pulled you from school at Easter, Ginny. Try again." He was still marching her towards the duplex he and Charlie each had a side of.

"I'm taking my classes by mail, which makes it extremely difficult to learn, which is why I needed Charlie." She responded primly as he unlocked Charlie's place.

She went in, peering around in interest, she'd never been inside Charlie's except once and he'd known his mother was coming. It was small, but only slightly untidy. "I thought Charlie would be messier, like Ron."

"He shared a room with Bill for years and I think Percy was in there with them for a time, old habits die hard. Now stop lying to me, Ginny. Nobody can overhear and you know I'm an auxiliary member, it's just Charlie who goes for the meetings."

She debated, then recalled how he'd made her blush and wanted a touch of revenge. "Fine, but I have to verify your identify first, just to be sure. What did I catch you doing in the shed?"

He flushed furiously, "Godric, don't you have any shame?"

"I've got six brothers, so no not really, but you made me talk about my gnomes so you'll have to say it!" She grinned as he got even redder and had to look at the floor.

"I was sixteen and" he began before faltering, silence hung and then he mumbled the last few words, "needed a wank."

Ginny giggled before patting him on the arm. "Don't be too embarrassed, I stumbled across everyone but the twins and when I followed you I still thought it was just something boys learned at Hogwarts and needed to practice even over the summers."

His blush lessened and he half-smiled, "Who fed you that one?"

"Bill, I told him if boys did it I could do it to and I would since girls could play quidditch or something. He's the one you should feel bad for, having to explain it and all." Speaking of Bill brought her back to why she was here and he seemed to realize too, the smile dropping from his face.

"Spill it, Ginny." He leaned against the wall.

"Just like you and Charlie are so close, Ron has two friends like that. _They_ were captured and my Ralph was tortured." Ginny felt the sharp burn of angry tears in her eyes but went on, "So I need to borrow the pensive from the reserve because the Order needs to know if she said anything and I need her back. We couldn't get word across in time for Charlie to bring it, so I rode a plane to come catch him." She felt a tear slip out, "But I missed him and my galleon didn't work to tell Dad or Tonks I made it."

"Ginny, you're saying nobody knows you're here? _Godric_ , they'll be worried sick. Look, stay here and I'll help you with getting the pensive, maybe Krum is heading to the meeting tonight and can swing by for you. It's doubtful with everything going on in Bulgaria, though. First, I've got to go to the village to use the phone to try and let your family know I've got you, then we'll figure when I can get leave take you back. Hard with Charlie already gone. Maybe Krum will let me borrow his boat." He paused, rubbed his temples. "I'll send McLaggen over since he's a loaner, just keep up with your school assignment cover and go help feed the baby dragons or something."

She hugged him again, suddenly remembering this was why she'd had such a crush on him when she was little. Ralph threw himself into everything he did full throttle, same as Charlie. He dropped a kiss on her head, "I'll take care of everything, Gin, and you'll get your Charlie back."

He left in a rush and Ginny paused for a long moment, trying to come up with some sort of plan to get back sooner than a few days from now. She supposed she'd have to get on a scary muggle plane again sheerly for time purposes. There were flickers of ideas, but none catching into a sparks so she simply started to rummage through Charlie's things, throwing a sleeping draught and burn potion into her school bag at random, followed by a rather dangerous looking knife and all of the muggle and magical money she could find. Her hands moved automatically, more and more going in to help her get to the airport.

When a knock at the door came, Ginny answered it and there was Duncan McLaggen. "Ralph said I'm at your service. What do you need for your assignment?"

She smiled at him and saw the reaction as he looked at her, his eyes drifting involuntarily downward before back to her face and remembered that the reserve only had one female dragon tamer who was married to another one of them. "Charlie said there's a pensive that they use to look back to see what upsets certain dragons, he was going to show me a few memories of his to help explain the patterns."

"Oh, sure, they've got two here I think." He started leading her, his hand drifting to the small of her back his other reaching out, "Would you like me to carry your bag? I'm on loan from the Welsh reserve, had to bring Angus over for specialized treatment."

She nodded and spoke back in distractedly polite manner. "Thank you. How are you liking it?"

His answer was excited, "It's similar to ours, but bigger and with more species, I'll be leaving any day now since Angus is better and itching to get home."

"How did you get him here? I thought when Charlie brought the dragons for the Triwizard Tournament they had to be sedated and carried."

They were nearing a small gatehouse, "Well, they were nesting mothers, weren't they? They say it was a devil of a time getting them and the eggs there and it was right nasty for the champions from what I heard. Usually, we just fly them where they need to go."

Ginny smiled at him as he opened the door and watched his eyes flicker down at her again, before he rubbed the back of his head. Boys were terribly predictable. "If you'd like, I'll take you for a ride on Angus when you're done with your school work?"

"I'd love that," Ginny said and meant it, she'd never been on a dragon before, "You'll have to tell me all about how to fly them, it'll be a treat after getting the essay done. Charlie, also talked about the little magical community, he was going to take me to see! Since he's not here, perhaps you'll be my guide, show me the floo network here and all? Charlie said it's rather different."

"They go through wells." He gave her a grin in return, before going to a cupboard and taking out a pensive, gesturing to the vials labeled by dragon tamer and dragon, "Do you know how to use one of these?"

"Yes, there was one in the Headmaster's office." She lied breezily as the sound of a dragon roaring and some sort of siren noise went off.

"Good, I've got to run, I'll be back for you!" He took off at a run leaving Ginny with her prize and the beginnings of a plan. Maybe she wouldn't need the knife after all.

* * *

Fred was explaining how they'd doubly hidden the cave to Charlie when they could hear dragging footsteps and quickly cast disillusionment charms on them, the egg like feeling running down his back. The footsteps were slow, but it turned out to be Hermione who threw herself down into the sand right at the entrance, tears running down her face. She gave a hiccuping sob and weakly tried to twist herself sideways, frustrated when nothing happened and tried again and again.

"He put anti-apparation charms on all of them. If she's here where is he?" Fred hissed, but Charlie rolled his eyes and cast a silencing barrier around the two of them.

They could hear running footsteps, Bill's frantic calls and then he came into view, barefoot and only wearing pants, still wet and suspiciously soapy. "What's wrong? Why did you run off like that?"

She raised Bill's wand and pointed it at him, "You…you two timing bastard."

Bill raised his hands in surrender, "What are you talking about, love?"

"I opened the package from your _love_ , Fleur, because you said it was from the Order and I could go ahead and open it." She was sobbing now.

—Charlie glanced at Fred, "Oops, but we really shouldn't be watching this. It's private."

"We're stuck, that's the only way in or out. Don't worry I had to see their first smoochies, at least that time Bill realized he was being a prat and got all noble. Rather entertaining if I pretended it was strangers, like muggle cinema." Fred replied, sitting down non-plussed.

"You're sick, you know that?" Charlie said.

"Bill was Dorian, a boy from the wrong side of the tracks and -"

"Just, don't, Freddie. Some things you should just keep to yourself." Charlie said half amused, but really not wanting to know what went on in Fred's brain.—

Bill was lowering himself down next to Hermione, "Give me the wand, Hermione. It's not what it looks like at all."

"Oh love letters and photos of the two of you and her conditioners and lotions- I'm smart enough to figure that out, Bill." Hermione snapped, still crying.

"It's actually a package for you, if you'll summon the photo frame, that will explain it." She glared at him, but sent the summoning charm and put the wand down between them. He made no move to grab it, "I sent message to Fleur that you'd been injured and we were having trouble getting some of the wounds to close. I suspect she's sent Veela made potions and balms, they won't share their secrets with wizards, but the balms full Veelas have to use on their skin after transforming back and forth are extremely valuable in how they keep their skin unscarred. She's working with keeping the Veelas on our side, but her pretense for the British and French Ministries is going home to her grandmother to make proper Veela wedding preparations."

The photo whizzed into her hands, she'd stopped sobbing, but still was eyeing Bill, who was speaking casually. "It's a good pretense, she is engaged, but to someone else. We broke it off on good terms, you know that."

-"What? Who?" Fred hissed, outraged that she'd gotten re-engaged so quickly after breaking it off with Bill and the fact Bill was failing to mention he'd gotten fantastically drunk after Fleur left, despite it being the right call.

"Elian, he's a half Alpine elf she met who's on a similar mission, they're even more disgustingly good looking and cutesy together than she and Bill were." Charlie made a face and Fred made a gagging noise. "He's nice and they're better suited. I think they might have already done a mating ceremony." —

Hermione had the same question answered and Bill was undoing the back of the photo frame and pulled out a shorter letter on a very fine parchment. He offered it to her, but she refused to take it, though her tears had stopped. He raised an eyebrow and read it aloud to her in his normal voice, not affecting the French imitation Fred was hoping for.

" _Dearest Bill,_

 _I'm so sorry to hear about dear Hermione, she was always so much kinder to me than the other girls-_ "

-"Ginny and Mum." Fred supplied for Charlie.

 _I hope these help, you'll find the labels transfigure near warm water into which potions and creams they are. Some are the same we used for the scars on your face, but didn't have enough for your back. I've included extra. My grandmother also recommends a hot spring or salt water if it's from a cursed blade, it helps crystallize the magic out of the blood. So far we're successful on my eastern front, Viktor says they're having more trouble there and a lot more are going into hiding. They are searching Bulgaria for something._

 _Wishing you happiness,_

 _Fleur and Elian"_

This time when Bill handed the letter to her she took it, scanning it as he picked up the wand and wrapped his arm tentatively around her. She didn't resist and let him drop a kiss on her temple, her voice was small. "I'm sorry….I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that. This is just so new and with everything else I freaked."

He pulled her more closely into his arms, "I know, I felt you panic. It's an understandable conclusion to jump to, pet."

—"Awww." Fred cooed. -

"But really, love, you've got to let me have a normal wash one of these days." It was said in a joking manner and she realized he was still wet and half dressed.

—Charlie shot an alarmed glance at younger brother, wondering just how far along Bill had let things go, but Fred's ears were pink. "Potion mix up that made her go bonkers," Fred blazed red, "we saw more of Hermione than Bill wanted and he turned into Mum and went mental on the three of us in his starkers. I'm lucky I still have both my ears."

Charlie blushed back, "I saw her too, this morning when Bill was trying to get her up when she fell. She's a mess."

"Yeah," Fred said moodily, counting that if Mr. Ollivander and the goblin somehow managed to get thrown in there then it would be everyone who'd passed through Shell. Oh and Ron, but they'd been on the run together. "They're so malnourished that the healing has to go a lot slower, not as slow as muggle healing, but slow enough not to overwhelm their systems. It'd be easier if we could take them to St. Mungos and have their help, but being wanted keeps you out of hospitals. Muriel's there now though, working on getting the healers on our side."

Fred glanced to where Bill was using his lips to reassure his new love and said, "Want to play a round of exploding snap while they make up? Or just let them know we're here?"

Charlie glanced too and seeing the adoring smile he was giving her between gentle pecks, turned his back. "Snap. I haven't seen Bill look that happy since long before Greyback. What do you mean about Muriel?"

"Oh, you didn't get her letter?-"

"I got it." Charlie cut him off. "It was very sweet."

"Well she had a busy day planned, I should really check in with George." Fred glanced over to the cave entrance before starting to deal, "Just wait until you have to see those two be disgustingly excited over the most horridly boring things. He'll be worse with her than he was with Fleur, I'll bet you five galleons on it."

Charlie rolled his eyes, distinctly refusing to look back at whatever had caused Bill's low chuckle to echo. "Five galleons on if we win this war and she'll still put up with him, their first date is a museum."

"Muggle or magical?" Fred asked speculatively, he really did need George to make accurate solid bets, he was the one who'd taken more of Arithmancy.

"There are no truly muggle museums, I don't think." Charlie answered picking up his cards.

"Deal." Fred agreed and also picked up his hand of cards, before pausing in thought. "Is Krum coming to the meeting?"

"Viktor? No, usually only one of us from the east can make it in and we pass info on as needed." Charlie said easily.

Fred had no such qualms about looking at the chaste tender kisses being stolen between whispers, "Well let's hope Fleur didn't mention anything about Hermione being hurt to him otherwise Bill will have to up his game. When George and I stumbled across our assumedly innocent 15 year old Hermione with Krum it looked like he was trying to teach her how to breathe underwater or see if she still had her tonsils. Never tell Ronald about it. We promised her we wouldn't if she helped us collect our winnings from the Durmstrang students. Ron was such a prat and a half over them going to the ball that Lee asked our permission to hex him."

Charlie raised his eyebrows then shrugged, "Where'd you catch them? Empty classroom, hallway or library?"

"Wrong on every guess, it was actually the Durmstrang ship. We'd gone down to gamble with them and try and sell some of our fake wands to raise capital and went with his roommate to get some bottles of their butterbeer. Don't worry though, freckle face, we explained the birds and the bees to her just to be safe and offered to feed him to the giant squid he'd just been imitating if he ever hurt her. Then like the true gentlemen we are, never said a word to anyone."

"You just told me about it, Fred and damn that's a mental image I didn't need." Charlie pointed out, rolling his eyes before looking back to his cards.

* * *

George was walking back up the lane from the magical house he'd broken into to floo the McLaggens when he spotted Muriel standing there in contemplation with her companions and he broke into a run. "Aunt Muriel?!"

She smiled at him in reassurance, "Go grab your mother, will you? I can't get them in. Have Ron start a picnic so they can sit outside, it's been ages for them and they like the trees. Did you get in touch with Augusta?"

George nodded, eyeing the two patients, "She's coming to meet them near here, she doesn't want them settled without her."

Muriel nodded and waited as George ran through the wards, thinking to herself of all the moral lines she'd double crossed today in her fight to give those as young as George a less horrific life than she'd had. By the time Molly came out Muriel had made peace with herself, she wasn't perfect, but she was what she was. She'd spent her youth deciding who was too far gone and choosing those she could save, her older years caring for children who didn't understand what was happening and pouring love onto them all the same even if they couldn't be bothered to return it, except little Charlie, well and Ginevra. She loved gossiping because it pushed every decision she'd made away, loved looking at other lives and being able to lose herself in them.

George and Molly appeared, Molly simply saying, "Oh my. Let's get you loves inside. We'll have a nice picnic and some tea."

She ushered her still very intrigued guests towards Molly and gave a small sigh. "Georgie, try my potion on Frank, please. Don't tell Augusta, it would break her heart if it didn't work. Then come wait here, I'll have need of you."

He nodded and she waited until Molly had them under the wards, steam rolling over any questions he would ask. "I'm bringing one of the dark ones, he's wee, I accidentally shrunk him when I flickered." She shrugged to show just how little she cared about the fact she'd probably permanently disabled the man, "I imagine your group will want him for questioning, but he's not worth another flick of my wand or allowed under my roof. Do punch him if he shows any signs of coming round, no, punch him even if he doesn't, for me and your mother? I took an oath not to cause harm, but I'll be damned if I don't let you do it for me."

George's face changed colors several times as the implications of what she was saying hit him, "I'll send message we've captured one." He leaned in and kissed her cheek softly, "Have a good day, Aunt Muriel."

* * *

A/N: As always, let me know who's story you want more of. The upcoming Order meeting will certainly be interesting and I'm still deciding on what Ginny and her knife get themselves into. Updated from an airport!


	10. Bird with a Broken Wing

A/N: Ginny is now popped back into her scheduled spot, so you can skip that part though it has been slightly edited.

* * *

 **Bird with a Broken Wing**

They'd been laughing as they made their way to the pop point a little earlier than expected, her arms intertwined with both Bill and Harry for support for how long it was. When they arrived at Muriel's all laughter abruptly died upon seeing Mrs. Weasley sobbing into her husband's chest and wildly swishing her wand at someone on the ground, Mr. Weasley saying softly, "Molly, don't make me take your wand. He needs to be questioned."

"I'll let you hex him some more after." Tonks offered soothingly her wand drawn and pointed at the newly arrived group. Her next words a snap, "Verification. Charlie, worst underhand attempt at trying to win the quidditch cup?"

Charlie actually flushed, "Dora, I've asked you to stop using that question." She raised her wand, though their was a slight smile as bat bogeys erupted on the boiled covered small man's face, and Charlie sighed, "Fine, let's go with the time I started an urban legend about how naughty muggle children had their teeth stolen and their mouths filled with metal because all of Slytherin and the twins year were completely terrified by teeth doctors."

She felt Bill and Harry's worried glances and managed a smile for Bill, and a whisper for Harry. "It all makes so much more sense now."

"Why?" Fred asked his twin, drawing his wand and just staring at his mother, handling the formality and completely knowing it was George.

"Because Alicia showed up with braces and we were trying to be nice and asked her about them in Potions even though they looked scary. So, she and Lee tried to explain it and Snape decided to show he was an utter git and sent her to the hospital wing to get the torture contraption out of his classroom."

Muriel simply was standing there and rolled her eyes at the process, "If they can get through the wards they're fine. Bill, why did I punish you?"

Hermione looked up at him and saw him smile slightly, "Because I ate Charlie's entire birthday cake when I still thought every cake was for me." Then he seemed to agree with Muriel, "What's going on? Why is Mum just hexing that tiny man. Is it even human?"

Muriel was fasted to answer, "He murdered her brothers. Fred, you're allowed to hit him because I had George punch him out when I brought him and that's only fair. You two Bill and Charlie, you remember them."

Hermione felt Bill go completely still at her side and watched Fred look at George then at his mother and promptly walked over. He looked down at him debating where to hit, then abruptly paused the foot he'd started to swing back. "I'll take my hit later, when he's awake to feel it."

Bill shifted, his eyes finding Charlie's then going to the sky in some sort of internal thought, His words were rather tight, "I've got to get these two under the wards."

Then he was all but dragging her and Harry across the barrier when his Aunt's voice stopped him. "William, you pick that girl up, her hip is dislocated. I know you wanted to break things for a living, but she needs a healer's touch."

Then she was flung over his shoulder and they were passing through with Mrs. Weasley's weak sobs left behind, Charlie and both twins having chosen to come with them. Charlie's tense voice the first to break the silence. "What was it Mum used to tell us to try and calm everyone down, only fight when you have to, not when you want to?"

"One of the golden rules for not getting into trouble." It was a twin, but Hermione couldn't tell which because all she could see was Bill's back and it wasn't particularly comfortable.

"Can I be carried in a less caveman like style?" She knew she sounded demanding and a little shrill, but the sight hadn't been easy for her either and she was glad the man's face was covered in boils so she couldn't recognize if he'd been there that night.

Bill moved her into being carried like a bride, his face losing that intense look and becoming apologetic. Harry tried next to break the tension as they all walked across the field towards the house debating where they stood morally, "Charlie, you called Tonks Dora, I thought that was just Moony?"

Fred grinned, "He used to call her his girlfriend-"

"-Until she obliviously very publicly dumped him in the Great Hall at breakfast after thanking him for their lovely Hogsmeade weekend."

"Please don't and it wasn't on accident. Hufflepuff was so injured they were playing her as a very backup Seeker that next weekend." Charlie said with no conviction that he could stop them from one of their most well rehearsed stories.

The twins ignored him, "They must know of your greatest victory, Charles."

"-How in your insane quest for both your dignity back and the quidditch cup"

"-You ended up a rather disgraced man who had to move to Romania in refuge."

"-Our tale begins with a very prepared Gryffindor team."

"-Having all heard him threaten to throttle Wood in his sleep if he let a single goal in." Fred chimed in.

George cut in "-His darling Dora checks who I am by asking who hit the bludger that threw her from her broom."

"Oh, I'll tell it, you stupid prats, just everyone get her to stop using that as security questions for everyone who was involved. She thinks it's all funny." Charlie ran a hand through his hair as one of the twins snickered in delight, "So I was very noble and caught her on my broom, but that meant two Seekers on the same broom. I needed us to win by a huge margin because of how Ravenclaw's destroyed them and Slytherin."

Bill smiled into Hermione's hair to hide it as Charlie faltered, his voice carrying anyway, "So, Charlie started an argument with her to give the chasers time to rack up points."

"-Let's not sugar coat it for wee Harry and Hermione." George said.

"Charlie and his Dora not only had a giant argument, but he then started kissing Tonks really passionately-"

"-In front of the entire school-"

"-I'd seen the snitch, ok? These were distraction techniques." Charlie cut them off and Hermione realized he was just completely embarrassed, but Bill was still grinning into her hair and it was so much better than thinking of what was outside the wards.

"-With McGonagall screaming at him over the commentary to stop being inappropriate and get back to the game.-"

"-And Charlie's Captain and Hufflepuff is such a confused mess they don't have one to call a timeout. So he just flies way up with her to not get the game stopped by Madam Hooch, snogging like crazy."

"And Hufflepuff lost by the greatest margin in Hogwarts history, which Hermione, yes I see that little smile, you summed it all perfectly when we heard you and Ginny. 'Well, Charlie's just a footnote in _Hogwarts, a History_ , now isn't he? Winning by that margin due to unspecified means and still never managing the cup?'"

She felt herself completely flush in mortification at the conversation she and Ginny had been having in their tent and Bill started laughing into her ear. Charlie's eyebrow raised, "Shall I go on to the comparison about how Bill was simply dreamy because he can quote one of your favorite books? How didn't he have the-"

She felt herself get even redder and was extremely glad when Bill stopped it, "Now, now Charlie, she needs that blood she's blushing with to heal. Harry, the Howler War was the next morning. Both Charlie and Tonks got them and were unable to make it out of the Great Hall, because half the hall seems to have been hit with sticking charms. People were cheering for the different Mums."

Fred seemed extremely gleeful at this, "-So Mum is debasing Charlie's entire moral character and blaming everything, literally everything wrong with all of us on him because McGonagall gave her all the dirt when she flooed. How Bill isn't studying enough for his NEWTs and it's all because Charlie is a quidditch obsessed maniac. She's on a real roll, but so is Mrs. Tonks.-"

"-But Mrs. Tonks didn't have quite as much ammunition so her howler stops and Mum is ripping into Charlie about he's the only brother who forgot to send Ginny a valentine, because he's morally astray and she'd just had to tell Ginny something must have happened to the owl after she'd waited for it for days.-"

"-How she has to do the howler in the shed because Ginny is inside making missing posters for the glitter covered owl she thinks is lying hurt somewhere with her card and Mum was taking Ron and Ginny later to put them all over Diagon Alley. Then she was mailing him some to put up because he deserved to be publicly humiliated for his terribly disrespectful behaviour towards the girls in his life."

"Harry, think on the scale of Potter Stinks badges combined with Weasley is Our King, but glitter owls and a broken hearted little sister as ammunition." Harry shuddered as did Hermione, trembling slightly in Bill's arms at the memory of those stupid badges and suddenly realized Charlie's struggle had been real.

"-While it was completely horrific for the next several months of my life, at least at the end of the howler Mum congratulated me on winning. Then, Dumbledore gave a nice speech telling everyone how moral education can be unconventional and reminded staff and students lessons should have started a few minutes ago. Bill had to unstick me and I ran for the lake to try and cool down, cutting class on top of everything else."

"I got so much detention I don't think I had a chance to see C the rest of the year, but I did make some posters that had a glittery owl saying 'lost but not forgotten' to help destroy him completely before they played Ravenclaw." Tonks said from where she'd just apparated behind them, sounding cheerful, if stressed. "Kingsley and Remus took him and we've had word of Ginny. You know that sister who still thinks you led a school search campaign on for her owl and you've just kept creating more elaborate lies about it so she won't hex you now."

* * *

Ginny had giggled at the right moments, had let her fingers linger on his arm when she fussed at him to let her make the tea for the dragon ride, just so she could slip a sleeping draught in it. When he'd buckled her into the straps hands grazing she'd let it pass, when he told her the spell and walked her through how to cast it, she'd been thankful. When McLaggen leaned in and huskily asked her if she'd ever been kissed on the back of a dragon, Ginny had blushed and offered him some of her brother's homemade candy instead like a nervous school girl would be expected to according to the rules Aunt Muriel was drilling into her.

Now he was slumped unconscious next to her still with blood on his face and she had dragon fire ringing the edges of her mind, so Ginny did what she always done, threw herself into the beginnings of a tentative relationship. Before Duncan McLaggen had gone out completely out he'd told her to get the dragon home safe and let her know how they could share the little things as they momentarily fell into the same mind wavelengths. Ginny wasn't sure on the theory of how it was supposed to work, so she just opened her mind, sharing memories at random for the curious thirst she felt in the fire as it flickered into sync with her own thoughts. She shared the small moments, Bill and Charlie throwing her back and forth from broomstick to broomstick when they used to use her as a quaffle that had her pealing with laughter while everyone else whizzed around them in a blur of red, only to find Angus could show her things too, the soft image of confusion and other eggs hatching. There were images of home: of sitting around the dinner table, of clutching Ron's hand tightly before curling into him the first time Charlie came down to summer breakfast and just punched Bill in the face and they'd rolled around the kitchen brawling, of sitting in the garden crying with her gnomes after being punished for breaking George's leg on accident, of what it took to grow up with so many brothers. She showed him Christmas crowns and wild laughter, of always having someone to go to when she woke up, of Percy trying to improve her penmanship by bribing her with butterbeer and sneaking into the twins room in search of candy only to find herself vomiting like crazy. The dragon showed her his home, his family in kind and Ginny found that wanting hers desperately wasn't enough to turn the tide of where he was going, Angus wanted his hatchlings too. So she showed him something sacred: she showed him Hermione. The first girl outside her family who'd ever chosen to care about Ginny.

She began sharing what it felt like to be loved by someone not of your own blood: the pure friendship they shared. She shared how Hermione had found her crying in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom in her first year because Fred had asked her to check and Ginny had been frantically sobbing over not knowing why she was losing chunks of time, how Hermione had simply perched herself on the sink, too stubborn to leave her alone and told her about the troll. The absentminded passing of preferred things at meals and sharing of clothes, the clutching of hands during Quidditch matches, the tears she'd had on Hermione's bed and the ones she'd consoled in turn. When Angus showed her eggs she told him no and sent back redheads for that, and when he showed her he got it by sending back something of him playing with a purple dragon she nodded to herself, he knew friendship as well. So she shared all the moments that meant nothing to anyone but her as they flew across Europe: the summers they'd spent sharing a room at the Burrow, giggling into the night, the homework help, the frantic attempts at trying to control her hair for an unplanned rather disastrous late night walk with a different McLaggen. The rush of fighting in the Department of Mysteries, the awful ache she'd felt sitting by Hermione's bed in the hospital wing after. In the end it wasn't enough as they went over the channel, he understood friendship, but not the depth of this one. How completely precious it was to be loved by someone of your own gender when your roommates thought you were bossy, a little too pretty and never forgot that you'd tried to kill all of them because you were possessed. How it was to be completely forgiven after setting loose a monster that had petrified her.

So Ginny steeled herself and gave the curious dragon absolutely everything at the next flicker: the moment she'd truly broken. The moment after living in a war, fighting in it against the Umbridge and Carrows, after the DA. The moment that came even after seeing her brother's mauled state and having to have heart her heart ripped out after Dumbledore's funeral. She showed him the dark emotion of when the last shred of childhood was taken from her, falling away as surely as if someone had snapped her wand. The moment something fundamentally shifted in Ginny Weasley's fierce core. How she'd sat in a dark cabinet listening to Hermione being carried off, her words and screams echoing and found she had to hold herself to try and control the shaking of her entire body, imaging the awful scenarios that mixed with the words knife, mudblood and smell. How'd she'd listened to Ron and Harry argue with Kingsley and talk about how they could hear her screaming, how it was more than anger and sadness that had flooded her in such an intense shock. How she'd gone cold in complete fear in the dark little space before being overrun with such a depth of determined hatred she absolutely could kill someone, how it was more personal than vengeance even. Then, oddly soothed by the decision, she'd tried to piece herself back together, only to find the pieces didn't fit the same and how she desperately needed Hermione back, how she brokenly needed all of this to just simply be over. How she needed the girl she'd giggled herself to tears with, her sister in everything but blood, and how if even meant killing Angus' beloved squid McLaggen, she'd do it and destroy her own soul to never have to hear Hermione cry out like that again. Then how she'd gotten enough pieces of herself back together to surge from the cabinet furiously to do something, anything to fix her.

Angus' fire flared then quieted as his dragon thoughts worked their way through what he'd been shown, but when it came time for him to turn up to the Welsh reserve, he didn't, he turned for the bushy haired girl. Ginny, rocked by the memory, was thankful for it and gave his scaly hide an affectionate kiss, not caring if she caught dragon pox. She'd changed, she'd always had a quick temper, but now, now it had a very distinct target. Even more thankful when he sent her a memory of him trying to kill all of the dragon tamers at his reserve for one of his hatchlings and Ginny sent back what the Death Eaters looked like in mask as well as all of the faces she'd seen pinned up at headquarters. He simply sent more flame and images of other dragons throwing fire at people that deserved it and kept sending them. It stopped the tears she didn't know were running down her face and made her give a very grim smile instead.

So grand theft dragon and a good therapy session are how Ginny Weasley shifted the tides of war and cemented loyalties of dragon kind when it would come time for battle.

* * *

Tonks fell into step with them, "C, You and Ralph are still quidditch obsessed idiots who either confused phone tree with the muggle game of telephone, it simply broke or was completely too thorough. Arabella Fig took a train to London to tell everyone she could find that her favorite quidditch player, the one who loves honey, made it onto a reserve team in Scandinavia. We think Honeydukes was initially in that version. Some poor muggle had to be intercepted by a London sweep team because he kept asking other muggles how they compared quidditch to soccer in attempts to find someone magical to give a completely garbled message about a reserved seeker catching the snitch only to have to leave it for a awhile in the hospital. He thought he was conducting a scavenger hunt for a ton of money."

" _Oh Godric_ , he must of panicked because he thinks of Ginny as his and used several of our backup plans. Even some we'd scrapped, like calling known magical last names in the muggle phonebook." Charlie said.

Tonks nodded, "Not even done yet, C. An ad was taken out in the new Ministry pamphlets that just arrived from someone who wanted to sell a reserve edition Roman broom they'd just inherited. Someone even wrote desperately into Rita Skeeter's advice column in the Daily Prophet Evening Edition to ask how her she felt watching everyone survive fighting dragons in the Triwizard tournament and begged her to turn the story around as fast as she could." Tonks paused for breath, "Sorry, Harry, wouldn't read that article if I were you. If we want Ginny back safe we need to throw them off the scent that she's even gone. With everything all at once we assume they've caught on to the fact we're sending a message someone is at some sort of reserve. C, have you had any luck with the dragons?"

Charlie's response was clipped with worry, "Some, but we're getting interference from someone else on the reserve who's appealing to their predator nature."

Hermione felt completely relieved about Ginny and said the first thing that popped into her mind, "Potterwatch? Is that listened in on?"

Tonks grinned, "Brilliant, of course it is. Perhaps Rat or Rapier can make an appearance."

Hermione was still thinking though, "You can make it about me. I'm known to be on the run."

Bill shook his head adamantly as did Harry, "You're known to be on the run with Harry and we don't want it to look like you've all fled your mission." He paused in thought and looked speculative, but Hermione was faster, "What if our mission had to take us abroad to where He hid for all of those years?"

Bill was shaking his head and she could see him crafting an argument in his mind, focused on Bill, Hermione was surprised when Fred cut in, "I'll make it about Fleur, since she was in the tournament. We've mentioned her work on there before and she's known to be on the continent."

Charlie agreed looking very closely at the emotions passing across Hermione's face over the woman she'd so misconstrued just hours ago, "The Death Eaters won't be making another attempt at wooing any Veela reserves after what just happened, part of what I'm reporting for her this meeting." When Hermione tried to argue, Charlie simply cut her off. "Fleur can take of herself just fine and this would put you in more danger when you're healing."

Harry's voice was hesitant before gaining momentum, "Can it be about me? I know everyone else is in danger simply by being a part of the Order, but I've got the giant target on my back, was in the tournament and played seeker. That's my Ginny who needs protecting."

He blushed as it slipped out and Fred said, "Oh, finally realizing that war is the time to fall in love rather than break hearts? Or is just because Charlie said someone else saw her as theirs?" Then looked a little ashamed at how harsh and quick the words had come, "Harry. I'll think about it before the broadcast, alright? That description fits Krum too. Charlie can correct me on this, but because Ralph wasn't from a magical family he was completely fascinated by tiny Ginny and all of her little magic pops. He'd go with her to take gnome call every morning when everyone else just teased her about them."

Charlie reached out to open the door and found that Tonks had paused to rub her swollen stomach as the twins passed through, "Bill will put up the wards for Mum, Dora. Sit down for a few minutes. Harry, it's something like that because we've got her stupid gnomes, even the one that tried to bite my finger off."

Tonks rubbed her face, her voice rising in frustrated volume. "Charlie Weasley if you are telling me that you two idiots have created an international incident by playing telephone, but have smuggled garden gnomes into protective foreign custody, you are going to put up the damn wards yourself. Then make me a sandwich and rub my shoulders."

There was laughter as Bill followed Tonks in and Oliver Wood's brogue called out, "I see Tonks' still has her Charlie special temper. C'mon on in, I've already started sandwiches and-"

The knife he was holding clattered to the ground in his sudden silence as he stared startled at Hermione. She knew what he was seeing, the bandaged arm hanging limp, the bruises under her eyes from lack of sleep and the cuts they were trying to heal and how she had to be carried like a helpless doll. She wanted to turn away into Bill's chest and ask him to cast glamour spells, but then she saw Ron and felt herself flinch involuntarily instead. George shifted to hide her view of him and she saw the other person in the kitchen who looked simply stricken, his first words came out garbled and in his native tongue. Then Viktor Krum got it together, held up a package and said very carefully, "Hermy-own-ninny, please, ve vill talk. Alone?"

Dumbstruck at seeing him, she simply nodded. Bill's arms tightened lightly about her as he carried her to the same parlor where she'd gone hysterical and settled her onto the same couch. Clearly catching her thoughts he smiled at her that it was fine, even as he was running his wand over the package. "Bill, what are you doing?"

He gave a shrug that wasn't quite natural, "Oh, curse breaker habit. I'll show you the spell later, it's bloody useful. Would you two like anything to drink?"

Hermione nodded and said softly she'd like tea, Bill nodded and ran a hand across her forehead to check and see if she was cold and popped his wand into her hair. All the while talking to Viktor as if this entire situation wasn't unexpected, "What about you? Vodka or tea after your travels? Hermione, I'm finding you a blanket as well and maybe a warming potion."

She'd noticed how Bill had also been very precise in pronouncing her name absolutely perfectly in a tone that said they were softly familiar and wanted to roll her eyes at him and smile in giddy satisfaction at the same time. Boys were completely predictable in the ways they would tell one another dibs. So she chose to smile sweetly at him, "Bill, I think vodka would be preferable to a potion."

He left the room, tossing a completely self-satisfied wink over his shoulder at her. "House Elf Bill's got his orders! Tea, blanket, vodka, potions and biscuits. Tug if you need anything else, pet."

He shut the door and Hermione watched as Viktor reached tentative hands out to take one of hers in between his own, "Hermy-own-ninny,"

Her stomach flipped and she opted to cut off whatever he was going to ask, she and Bill had decided that inside his room and in the cove they were together, everywhere else they were still just latched. "Harry will explain what happened at the meeting, Viktor, I'd rather not talk about it."

"I vill respect that, but vy did Beel leave you his vand?" He started again and Hermione fell into the familiar cadence of his accent from hours of talking when he squeezed her hand, found that she could answer.

"We're magically latched and my wand is gone. It makes me feel better to have it, I think all of his siblings' wands work fine for him so he'll nab one of theirs if needed."

Viktor placed the package in her lap, "He's von them at one point then." He took his nasally breaths until Hermione looked up at him and made eye contact, "On my travels, my Hermy-own-ninny, I checked on your parents."

She felt the blood drain from her face and her hands clench uncontrollably on the package.

* * *

A/N: Reviews are adored! Next up we'll hear about Hermione's parents, Bill and Ron will have a stand off, Ginny and McGonagall end up not having their nights go as expected.


	11. Channeling the Future

A/N: I'm adoring the reviews, Katharina i can't write you but I hope you keep reading! Here we go! Long chapter with narrators of McGonagall, a textbook, Bill and Ginny. Someone asked why there's so much Ginny, rather simple. Crow's boyfriend loves book Ginny and rather thinks crow herself resembles her and he wondered why so she told him. "My older brothers took the mickey out of you for kicks and you're still wondering why I have so much nerve?" So Ginny also deserves to be fleshed out as character who does more than throw a signature hex, play quidditch and always been in love with Harry girl.

* * *

 **Channeling the Future**

Professor McGonagall looked up at the knock to her study as she was just pulling on her coat. She opened the door, feeling the familiar flash of anger at seeing the dark man she had once trusted standing there. He gestured for entrance and as he was her boss she let him, refusing to use his title. "What can I do for you, Severus?"

"I need to speak to you about one of your students, Minerva." She gestured for him to go on and he shut the door behind him. "She's broken rather a few rules and is currently missing from school."

This made Minerva pause in worry trying to think who would have just up and left that hadn't already, but Snape was still speaking. "Apparently, she takes after her brothers in transportation theft and trying to create general mayhem, even amongst dragon reserves."

The blood drained from Minerva's face, Ginny Weasley. She wasn't sure why he was telling her this, but had to ask. "What are your recommendations for the situation?"

"Perhaps the authorities in pursuit of her from Europe could use help from her Head of House to get her safely off a dragon, which currently seems highly unlikely."

Minerva nodded, clutching her wand in reflex. "Where is she?"

"Over the channel, headed near here. There's another dragon and at least five…authority figures in pursuit of her." He turned to go, only to find she was starting to rush past him. He let her through first, handed her broom to her and said, "Minerva, save the child if you can and I'll take my time delivering the call to the Carrows for their requested assistance in the matter."

She nodded swiftly and as she bustled off thought she heard him whisper, "No redheaded girls should die this time around."

Then casting a disillusionment charm on the broom and herself, she left the castle flying towards Hagrid's heard of thestrals. She was going to need something faster than her broom. Whatever she felt about Severus, his roles in the wars, she also knew that deep down he did care for the majority of students, you didn't become Head of House otherwise. How as terrible his reign of Headmaster was, students seemed to get an awful lot warnings from portraits of when to flee. She'd always thought it was Albus, but perhaps not.

She'd feared Ginny would be hard to find in the air, but the flying jets of light colliding with each other and shields led the way. She urged the thestral towards them, wand at the ready, there had to be two people on the dragon, with how fast the spells were flying at the one rider. She heard Ginny's curses being screamed even over the beating of wings and Ginny was not using the hallway hexes. She was throwing what they'd been learning in what was now known simply as Dark Arts. McGonagall sent a stunner at the rider when she was close enough, hearing Ginny throw a bone breaking curse in unison. Unaware of McGonagall's presence, the rider focused on blocking Ginny's curse and McGonagall's hit true, flinging the rider from their broom.

Ginny looked around in confusion, so she yelled. "Ginny, it's Professor McGonagall! More are coming."

Briefly she pulled her thestral closer to Ginny, just above the dragon's wingspan, seeing there were two people on the dragon and hoped whoever with her was unconscious and not slumped dead across her lap. Ginny was scanning the skies, "Know which way they'll come from? He hit Angus and I from behind."

"At least the Carrows will come from Hogwarts. Where are you going? Who's with you?" She opted to set aside the dragon issue, that she could hopefully ask later.

"Muriel's." Ginny replied, "I've got something for the meeting. Duncan McLaggen and he's knocked out. We should be able to make it, it's only twenty more minutes I think."

"Who's on the other dragon?" McGonagall asked, scanning the skies.

"Other dragon?" Ginny replied in confusion, "I only stole one."

They heard it roar and had no idea if it was friendly or not. Ginny's eyes unfocused for a moment and a few moments later she came back in. "Angus says it's a lovely Horntail with Ralph on her, so Order. He must have followed me."

McGonagall wanted to roll her eyes, of course he would have. She'd gone through a lot of sherry with Filius and Albus the year she'd had to handle both the twins and Ralph and Charlie's quidditch antics. Ginny was speaking again, "Angus says we've got two incoming from the left on broomstick, two from the right and several specs from London. He's going to flame the right side so watch out."

Then what would later be known as the Battle of the Channel was in full swing. While an often overlooked skirmish, as it did not involve Mr. Potter, it's outcomes are well documented in the current curriculum.

Survivors include:

\- Angus (dragon, Welsh Green, riders: Ginevra Weasley and Duncan McLaggen) - killed two known Death Eaters and three Dementors, the Channel is best known as the beginning of his reign as Angus the Bloody for the rest of the second war.

-Helena (dragon, Hungarian Horntail, rider: Ralph Robinson) - killed one, flamed several brooms and used her tail in combat to great effect.

\- Vera (thestral, rider: Minerva McGonagall) - became hungry at the smell of blood and bit part of Amycus Carrow's hand off.

\- Amycus Carrow (injured: McGonagall, Vera) - abandoned the fight to save his sister after hearing Miss Weasley scream, "I hope you drown, bitch."

\- Alecto Carrow (heavily injured, Weasley) - most notorious injuries are from Miss Weasley's creative use of a reducto curse to implode the broom she was riding on.

-Titus Knott (injured: Weasley, McGonagall) - dropped from the sky unconscious and landed on a muggle ferry, later institutionalized in a muggle facility for talking about magic.

\- Marcus Flint and Stan Shunpike (uninjured) - known to have been Imperiused, were merely disarmed by McGonagall.

-Ralph Robinson (injured, unknown) - notable for preventing all continental pursuit by his use of summoned bludgers to help defend himself and Helena against anyone on broomstick, "The Robinson" is now a standard dragon defense tactic when flying in hostile territory.

\- Minerva McGonagall (uninjured) - dueled three people at once and used WWW products she'd confiscated to cover their passage over land and end the assault. The store created the best selling "McGroove It, McSave Her" line of fashionable tartan anti-assault products for women's protection in her honor.

-Duncan McLaggen (injured: accidental, Weasley) - stabbed by a knife in Weasley's bag as she threw him across her lap. The non-participant, went unconscious either at onset or before the battle began and his wand was kept by Weasley.

\- Ginevra Molly Weasley (injured: accidental, Angus, intentional, Knott) - the dueling technique of using two wands, one hand exclusively offensive or defensive was renamed the "Weasley Dragon" in deference to her expert usage to protect herself and another. Also noted for the first case of a dragon helping a human hold a continuous patronus against dementors so they could both fight.

Those are simple facts the wizarding world would later see in textbooks. Textbooks wouldn't include how the participants celebrated their victory in battle: not two days later three dragon riders, Duncan allowed because Ginny did feel bad for almost killing him and winning his wand, would sneak to muggle London and get tattoos: two dragons and a knife. How'd they'd bought the offered photos at the parlor and gone out drinking. How Ginny had written a rather drunken, but very genuine, thank you note from the bar that night to Professor McGonagall, included one of the photos and offered to get a tattoo with her too. How Minerva would keep the photo of the three of them grinning like crazy showing off their ink, touched by the gesture, then send Howlers both to the very confused muggle tattoo parlor and to Mr. Robinson for sneaking her out. How Mr. Robinson responded by sending her a miniature dragon desk ornament, also kept, a bottle of scotch and a note thanking her for saving his Ginny, but that he had no regrets and that he hadn't let her get a tribal gnome tattoo.

How Minerva would later attend the horrifically named product launch she'd grudgingly approved after seeing the alternate names, which would result in her own adventures with a touch too much firewhiskey with the store's proprietors. How two dragons started a very prolific new line, named the Muriels, noted for their distinct preference of redheaded trainers. How when Muriel's wards were under attack, Angus would manage to break through and handle it all by himself to protect his nesting mate and red humans.

* * *

Bill carried the tea tray and knocked at the door, not noticing his younger brother lurking further down the hallway. The door had a silencing charm and upon realizing he simply opened it, about to say something about how he was sorry for interrupting, but instead startled practically yelled, "Sorry! Sorry!"

Hermione was in Krum's arms looking up at him, grinning madly with tears glinting in her eyes. She turned to Bill and then started, flinging herself further into Krum and Bill slammed the door shut and leaned against it. He didn't bother to hide his anger, they'd all been clear on this. "Ron, what are you doing out here? You're making it harder for her and you know you'll see her at the meeting."

Ron scuffed his shoe against the carpet, "I was standing watch, ok? He's been Imperiused before."

Bill wanted to point out that standing outside a room in which you could neither see nor hear was going on was a pretty bad protection strategy. "You're lurking. Do you think I would have left her alone with him if there was a single thing amiss? She's got a wand, can tug my brain if she needs to and I checked the package."

"No, but you saw how it is with them. She's back in his arms already, I know everyone thinks I don't know they dated, but I'm not an idiot. She didn't come back from the library one night and I was worried so I borrowed Harry's map and cloak. She was with him and then I was mad because I thought she might be helping him with the second task so I went to check, but she wasn't."

"So," Bill said, remembering that Fleur had said Hermione had been Viktor's first real love. "You stumbled across one of their dates."

Ron nodded, still looking at the ground, "I got stuck too, had to listen to stupid Krum tell her how he has a bunch cousins in America who grew up non magical, because his grandfather hid everyone too well during Grindelwald then died before he find everyone. She talked about Anastasia and I had to go look it up to figure out why she thought it was romantic. Bill, she'd never looked at me like that or told me that I was clever. I was just starting to like her and she was liking someone else who said and did everything right, while I just kept shoving my foot in my mouth."

"The twins hadn't passed on the book, yet, huh?" Bill said softly, feeling suddenly rather like a jerk, but still wanted to offer comfort. "Look, Krum was older and us boys are the slow ones to mature, which is why so many girls date older guys. You were kids."

Wow, really not the greatest word choice, he was definitely being a self serving asshole at the moment.

"I guess, but what if now I never get that shot? She still hasn't forgiven me for running away, no matter how many times I apologize." Ron said moodily.

Bill unfortunately didn't want to ever mess up enough for Ron to have that shot. "Look, we've got a plan to figure out what's going on, but it's one step at a time. Hopefully, it'll be reversible and you two can be friends again. Why don't you do something nice for her like get a more comfortable chair for her into the meeting room? She'd appreciate that and put some snacks there, she didn't eat as much as I'd like today. Take Harry to help."

Now Bill was stuck lurking in the hallway and before he could go on his own guilt trip, Charlie showed up to help him out. "This is going to blow up in your face, Bill." His voice dropped to a hiss, "You can't be snogging her and giving him hope."

"I said friendship, Charlie." Bill hissed back, "And aren't you the one who told me to go for it over summer because Ron's a grown man now so we don't have to keep giving up everything we want for the younger ones."

"Yes, but that's because I wanted to steal my radio back from Ginny." Charlie shot back.

"So, I'm just supposed to give her up, give up my shot at happiness?" Bill was not doing that, he'd promised her he wouldn't waffle again over being with her. A solid plan because he knew he'd end up kissing her again anyway, it seems like because they'd started he couldn't stop it.

"Oh, don't do that." It was Tonks, eyeing them curiously.

"Go away, Dora. Did you get your super sonic mother hearing early or something?" Charlie said.

Instead she came towards them, inserting herself into the conversation. "Now, I don't know how it is with brothers, but boys get over school crushes, just like you did, C. But I do know how it was when Remus was pushing me away for the noble reason of not wanting to inflict his status on me. It was bollocks, because as a half-blood metamorphmagus I'm already pretty high up the list of people dark wizards love to kill, and felt like I was living on borrowed time. You saw how we were, C."

Charlie nodded and she went on, "Remus was taking the most insane missions in attempt to get himself killed and I was a miserable sobbing mess for months. Don't make Bill do that to her or himself, especially if it's over the age difference." Finished with Charlie, she turned to Bill eagerly whispering, "Does she think it's so romantic that you got mauled protecting her?"

"She doesn't know and I'd like to keep it that way. How do you even know about this?" Bill shot back, feeling moody himself. He never meant to get himself mauled, but kept seeing Fenrir trying to get at her in the mayhem. He'd managed to get a jawsticking charm on him earlier, but he'd already been leaping so Bill had thrown a shield at her back and then found himself just tackling the werewolf out of the air to change its trajectory because he'd still hit her, shield or no shield. He'd gotten rather mangled before he managed to blast the thing off of him. He didn't want her to think it was her fault he had the scars because she would feel so guilty.

Tonks shrugged, "You should have seen the way you were mooning over her this summer, everyone knew, especially after they left and you went into a funk. Now you just have that same silly lovesick grin you've always gotten when you have a girlfriend."

"See, Bill? Even Dora, who's oblivious, can already see it. Maybe you should just tell everyone."

She smacked Charlie on the arm, he ignored her. He opened his mouth to go on, but Bill felt a tug. "Sorry, Charlie. She wants me."

He opened the door and really hoped they hadn't taken down the silencing charms and just been sitting inside listening to the ridiculous conversations in the hallway. She was out of Krum's arms and grinning madly at Bill, waving a toothbrush at him. "Bill, Bill, Bill! Viktor checked on my parents! They're fine, isn't that wonderful?! He even let my dad put his tooth back in the muggle way!"

"I very much prefer the magical way." Krum said as Bill set the tea tray down and she laughed in giddy happiness. Krum rose from his spot next to her on the couch and gestured for Bill to take it, "I shall pour us vodka shots to celebrate."

Bill wasn't going to turn down his chair of honor, so he lifted the box off her lap to throw her blanket on. Glancing in the box he saw books, several dentisty things, flowers and something wrapped very carefully. He kissed her temple and slid an arm around her as he sat. "I'm thrilled, love. I didn't know anyone knew where your parents were."

He took the shot he was passed as Hermione happily explained, "Well we don't really know where they are, but Viktor and I know where the information to find them is hidden. I'll tell you too, biscuit!"

"Did you just call me 'biscuit'?" Bill asked trying to decide if he was going to love or hate that nickname, because if it was hate he needed to nip it in the bud before it became habit for her.

"Yes, because even now you're trying to shove a potion at me and give me a biscuit after." She stuck her tongue out at him before giving a radiantly happy smile and grabbing her shot, "To safely hiding them!"

He took his shot and set the potion down, he hadn't even realized he'd been doing it. He really needed to just set a schedule on his wand, Muriel was right, he was not built to be a healer and just giving her potions for every little thing like being cold, probably wasn't the best course of action. "Do Harry and Ron know where it is?"

"Vell, no." Krum cut in.

"You see, it'd have been rather stupid to tell the people I was going on the run with because I thought there was a pretty big chance we'd all end up dead or captured or…" Bill pulled her close for a moment, pushing the magic from his side of the latch over to her and gestured for Krum to pour another shot. Done and administered.

Krum was talking and gestured to something in the box, "Your father made very odd teeth jokes. I vrote down everything, Hermy-own-ninny."

"He always does, they're terrible, but he loves them and thinks it puts his patients at ease." Hermione gave a watery smile and was back to happy again, though she stayed in Bill's arms and held out her shot glass.

Bill took it from her and set it down and shoved a biscuit at her, "If you get any more vodka you will be as drunk as a skunk for the Order meeting."

"That's sort of my plan, I can just happily think about how they're safe and ignore Harry having to talk about it and hopefully not be dragged out of the room in hysterics again." She shot back, 'Not my best work, but it'll do."

"You know I'm not letting them question you again, love." Bill said softly, "If you're worried, you could always just take a calming draught ahead of time."

Viktor had apparently just decided to ignore Bill's role in the healing latch and had already handed her two shots which she took back to back, which made Bill's skin itch in irritation. Bill liked Viktor and Fleur had always spoken fondly of him, he did not like however suddenly remembering him asking if Hermione was at Fleur's birthday party as he scanned the room. She thanked him very sweetly and simply held her hand out to Bill for a biscuit because she was sputtering.

"Hermy-own-ninny, the vrapped package needs to stay vrapped until you need it. Emergency port-key, bring you to my safe house." She was peering in the box and moving out of Bill's arms and he could feel that itch turning into his hackles rising at the thought of someone else being in his shoes and protecting her.

He wasn't particularly polite when he said, "She's already at the safest safe house the Order has. Mine." Krum looked startled and Bill leaned over and kissed her so he could grab his wand from her hair, "Which reminds me."

Then he hit him with the charm rather a little harder than necessary, but if it took the edges of his feelings of Hermione as well as the knowledge of Shell then Bill would consider it a blessing for Krum so that he could move on. Hermione was eyeing him, "Feeling macho?"

Bill responded by pulling her closer and kissing her again as Viktor was still completely incoherent, "It's not macho when it's the truth, love. I'm just stating the facts."

Apparently amused by his answer she shook her head, but was smiling at him. So he went on, "I'm the factual brother, Charlie is the hothead, Percy is the worrier, Fred is the detonator to George's gunpowder -"

Krum seemed to be coming around, he was pouring himself vodka. "Pardon me, I must have dozed off after the traveling."

"Bill had to modify your memory." Hermione said factually though a smile was playing around her lips.

"To help protect Hermione." Bill added in ways of information, still feeling unapologetic about hitting him quite that hard.

Krum just nodded at that and shrugged to indicate he was fine with it. "I must go find a double, no vat is the vord? I have need of their services." He rose and bowed, lifting one of Hermione's hands to give it a kiss.

She said something to him in Bulgarian in response that made him smile, he was halfway across the room when she excitedly called out, "Toro, if I can ask one more thing of you? We're getting a pensive….do you mind if I see the memory? See my parents?"

Bill wondered if she even knew she'd used a pet name and whether Viktor had been Hermione's first love as well. Deciding given she'd been 15 it was likely. He nodded, "I shall find a vial."

He left and Bill glanced down at her and said in a teasing voice, "He got Toro and you're trying to call me biscuit? That's just downright rude to my supposedly macho ego."

She blushed and he laughed, "You can call me whatever you want, love, as long as I'm the only you ever use it for."

"Well, then I want the same rules. You call everyone pet." She argued, peering up at him. He threw a locking charm at the door.

"Well, love, then you'll be pleased to hear that one is only yours." She leaned up smiling and he leaned down, kissing her softly for several minutes before giving into the urge to trail kisses along her neck. He pulled away at her small noises realizing if he let it go any further he was going to give her a hickey like he was sixteen just to show everyone she was his. Damn his hormones around the moon.

He set about retying his ponytail and shoving them aside with practicalities, "Would you like to be seated before everyone goes in for the meeting or enter later and get it all over with at once? I noticed you didn't like the reaction in the kitchen."

She looked hesitant, "Do you know any glamour charms?"

Well no, but there wasn't a way to simply say he hadn't learned any because he'd always been good looking until he tackled a werewolf. So he asked her a question, "Do you really want them? I could ask Mum, but I'll have you know she refused to cover my wounds when I was in your shoes. She and Fleur both told me it didn't matter how I looked and that having them showed I was brave, so I better get used to seeing them in the mirror because they weren't going away."

She was quiet, thinking so he said softly, "Watching them go from wounds to scars in the mirror helped a lot, as if each time I noticed they weren't as horrific I could let go of more anger."

"Every time I showered after you your towel would be over the mirror." She argued, though she didn't ask for the charms.

Well, that was easy enough to answer. "That's just always been my towel spot, Charlie and I had the mirror. Mum made us keep the towels in the bathroom to make laundry easier, so everyone had a place. You were a guest so you got the real deal, the actual towel rack."

She smiled and he gave her a little kiss, before glancing at the clock, "We've got to get going, love, the meeting just started. Now this time I won't act like a caveman, how would you like to be carried in?"

She picked up the vodka and arranged her blanket, "Last time was fine and yes I'm bringing this."

He raised his eyebrow but lifted her without comment, talking as he walked, "You can pull any of the strength you need from your vodka, my manly arms and magical giving skills. You see my macho ego gives it extra power."

She was giggling at his antics lightly as they entered and while she stiffened and he felt her tug along the latch, she managed a proud smile for everyone and he headed for the slightly out of the way sofa chair with it's very own tea tray of snacks. He opted to ignore the wooden chair next to it and simply sat down and let her settle in his lap. Maybe he was taking Charlie's advice, maybe he wasn't, but he wasn't going to simply hold her hand and have an arm around her after last night. He checked the bond to make sure there were no kinks and wrapped his arms around her, intertwining his fingers with hers over the vodka bottle she was clutching. While he knew everyone was staring and would steal glances at her, at them, throughout the meeting, he just didn't care because he'd be there. This time he would be ready no matter what got thrown their way.

He didn't expect it to come just minutes later with the sound of something impacting the wards and everyone beginning to draw wands to have George rip the door open voice bewildered and tense, "Take down the wards, Ginny just smacked into them at a full sprint."

Charlie undid them and George and Ginny appeared and Bill felt Hermione tighten at the sheer tension in the room. Her hair wasn't red, it was auburn and windswept and the jacket she was wearing was covered in blood. She was grinning almost insanely and holding a wand in each hand, "I've got it!"

Tonks and most of her family had risen, questions being thrown all at once. Ginny waved one of the wands in a general quieting charm, her other hand digging into the bag as she strode triumphantly towards Hermione. "Here's your pensive, oh wait, let me clean it." Swish, swish.

"How did you get here?" Tonks asked tightly her hands clutched in horror at her appearance and extremely proud of her at the same time, her nose going snout.

She was rambling as she turned from Bill and Hermione. "Oh, I came with Duncan and Angus and then McGonagall showed up as we were getting attacked over the Channel. She's outside tending to Duncan, he accidentally got stabbed by Charlie's knife."

"Who's Angus?" Someone said in utter confusion.

"He's a Welsh Green who really hates Death Eaters." Ginny said proudly as the blood drained from Charlie's face, "He's out eating the sheep, because I love the goats. Charlie do you-"

"GINNY!" Charlie bellowed in fury. "Did you steal a dragon?"

"Charlie, he was being relocated." Her voice had gotten meek, then strengthened, "Shouldn't you be handling a dragon? I can't have him in my mind forever."

Charlie glared, "Later." Then snapped away and started striding for the door with a glance at Bill who shook his head in the negative, "Harry, Krum you've both handled dragons. Come. Ron and Wood, you too we'll grab the twins that should be enough to set containment wards."

Muriel stood, "Let the handsome one walk me, I'll take a look at whoever's injured."

Bill was slightly in shock and found Hermione disentangling herself from his arms, shoving the vodka at him and throwing herself at Ginny who was doing the same. They hugged tightly, Hermione's voice choked, "You stole-"

"-Relocated-" Ginny also sounded choked.

"Stole." Firmly corrected, "a dragon for me?" Hermione said and Bill could tell tears were slipping out.

"I'd do anything for you, Hermione Granger, but now go fix your brain!" Ginny said, squeezed one last time and popped a kiss on her watery cheek, before pulling away.

She leaned down and kissed Bill's cheek too, "Bill, give everything else in that bag to Charlie. I took it from his place, but he's upsetting my dragon."

Then Ginny was gone at a sprint and they could see there was blood on her back too and part of her hair seemed to be singed off. Bill rose, put the bag over his shoulder and lifted Hermione, saying in the most normal voice he could. "We'll be in the yellow parlor while the dragons get settled."

They passed Professor McGonagall, hatless and windswept, levitating someone. She looked at Hermione's state and the fact she was clutching a pensive and vodka and simply said, "Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, I suppose this is why I got to see your sister's excellent dueling skills on display. Do go on now, I've got to patch this one up with Healer Prewett."

So he'd carried her on, thinking he'd always loved how even in the strangest situations his Head of House kept it together for everyone else.

"Charlie and Ginny are the most alike, besides the twins, but we're think they're broken so they don't count." He said jokingly, before setting the pensive down and glancing at the strange contents shoved in Ginny's schoolbag. He opened it to show Hermione, but found she was peering at the pensive in contemplation. He knew she was afraid for Ginny given how they could hear the tone of Charlie's distinct baritone screaming at her on repeat to get off, to stop it for Godric's sake amongst other things. "Of all of us, freckle face and Gin Gin are the fiercest, quick to anger," Bill paused to pull her into his arms for a moment, "Fastest to throw a curse and equally able to just completely forgive anyone after awhile, no matter what they've done. They're the most passionate ones out of us, I think." He kissed her forehead, still speaking while she thought. "He'll yell at her for being irresponsible, hug her like mad for doing it anyway and be extremely proud of how well McGonagall said she fought. Ginny will get a wildly expensive present for her birthday because he'll feel guilty that he yelled in the first place and she'll still always refer to it as _her_ dragon." She was still staring at the pensive in thought so he poured a glass of vodka and pumpkin juice sipping idly before passing it to her and went on, "He mentioned her most in his letters when I was at school and he wasn't, let her scribble on them, and how he'd take her flying everyday at 3. She cried so hard at the platform when he went away for his first year, out-sobbed Mum even, just incoherently begging him to shove her in his trunk."

When she looked up at him, she seemed hesitant, but he wanted to verify. "Would you like to wait for Harry?"

She shook her head adamantly as she pulled away, it was as if she was trying to channel some of Ginny's fierceness and found she needed more vodka for that. Her voice was quiet, "Will it be different when we're not bound? You won't be as…as caring as a nesting mother over me."

He leaned back, glancing at the pensive. "Well, love, sure there won't be the tug, but I'll care just as much. We'll just settle into a more normal relationship where I'm not smothering you with potions left and right. I'll fall in love with a rock band that you'll secretly hate and when I surprise you with concert tickets you'll go because I want to so badly. Then when you're mad because I accidentally bought mosh pit tickets but won't say anything, I'll notice and whisk you away."

She almost smiled, sipping her drink to calm her nerves. "That's rather specific, do go on."

Bill scratched his head, sipped the drink himself and wondered just how much of this was the touch of Seer in the Prewett line. "We'll run out of ink and be annoyed because we're both working on things, then you'll fall asleep and spill it on yourself and I'll dip it out of your hair to get my stuff done before vanishing it. You'll wake up with ink stains and come to yell at me about it and I'll point to the grocery list where I've already added ink and ink remover." he faltered, not wanting to say it.

"If we're out of ink, how are you writing on a grocery list?" It was logical even as she simply poured more vodka in the cup and took a very long swig to try and hide the fact her shoulders were shaking slightly.

He flushed, knowing she'd immediately understand just how far he'd gone in fantasy land. "Crayon."

She smiled at him, leaning up to kiss his jaw, soothing the flush away and let him hold her to soothe the shakes away in turn. "So in your mind we're a rock concert attending couple who fights over ink with crayons laying about for little ones. Ours or babysat, either way, I like the picture you're painting, Mr. Weasley."

So did he and he smiled into her hair, sensing she was finally ready. "Shall we?"

She was stubborn again, like the first night she'd shown up on his beach and thrown herself into his life. "Nobody sees, but me."

Bill paused, wrapping her close again and gave her a small kiss to distract her while he threw a kink into their magical healing. "Well love, that's just not the case where you go. I go."

She glared and he went on. "Whether you like it or not, that's the rules were playing by while bound." A pause and her glared thickened even more, so he kissed her again, longer and deeper this time, waiting for the magic to hit the kink and come back his way before throwing a second one in keeping it on his side. He went down her neck again and back to her lips, as a distraction technique.

When he pulled away she was staring at him a little breathlessly, fingers absently touching the side of her neck where he'd definitely just left a mark. Her next words very quiet, "What if I don't want you to? Could you stay on this side?"

He shook his head in the negative, "I don't think even if I tried I could, because if that was the case I'd leave you behind, love. The Order needs someone to verify."

She slowly raised his wand to her head and drew it out, dropping the silvery memory into the bowl. She looked at it for a few more moments, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her head against his chest. His words were quiet, "Would you like some more vodka before we go?"

She nodded and refused to let go of him as he poured another glass, wondering just how awful this was going to be if she needed quite this much to even think about facing it and still slightly trembling. He was very glad she hadn't seemed to notice the kinks yet, because he was determined that whatever he saw he would bear the weight for her this time. She'd been through it once and that was more than enough. She leaned up to kiss him again and he pulled her as close as he could. It was long and desperate and she clung to him as if she thought it would be their very last kiss. When she pulled away her eyes showed him the girl Harry had said cried herself to sleep on the run, the terrified girl who woke in his arms because of nightmares. Her words even more desolate than her eyes as she began to peer over. "I'm so sorry you have to see this, Bill."

"I won't let it hurt you, love." He said softly, knowing she couldn't fall in with what he'd done and threw them both over the edge.

If Bill hadn't gotten his heart entangled with hers, he might have remembered that being noble in love often led to rather stupid decisions and unfavorable outcomes. He might have been able to think more clearly about just what he'd done by creating those kinks in the healing bond and how poorly it had turned out last time, how he'd even told Hermione not to do it. But he'd given her his heart, his magic and his home and would give her his very soul if he had to.

* * *

Ginny came out as another dragon was landing and went running for it, ignoring Charlie's orders to stay away because the dragon rider was calling for her by dragon. She climbed up to find one of his arms terribly bloody and ripped at her robe to tourniquet it, completely in distress. "You're hurt! I got you hurt!"

His good arm pulled her so that she was facing him across his knees and she was scrabbling in her pocket for the healing half of a nosebleed nougat, his voice was gruff. "I'm fine."

Then the image came to Ginny, just as she'd tied her mind to Angus, Ralph had to Helena and couldn't block the dragons from sharing his thoughts. How panicked he'd been at finding Charlie's place ransacked and other dragon tamers making lewd jokes about what she was doing to be gone so long with Duncan and thinking he might be the spy on the reserve. How he'd said he go look for them and just taken Helena from another tamer. Then it fell out of sync and Ginny was able to give him the candy and cast a charm at his arm. Her chest felt heavy and she tried to smile, "So that's why you followed me?"

He reached up and pulled his goggles off and shook his head and she could feel herself falling back into sync with Angus just as she was struck by how handsome he was, "I'd have followed you anyway."

There she was in pigtails holding a gnome in a bonnet with Charlie giving introductions "oh and Ginny", bubbles bursting out of her as she looked up and then ran away, Charlie's voice nonchalant, "Don't mind her, she makes bubbles when she's shy." How he'd never seen any accidental magic but his own and he wanted to see more from Charlie's littlest, maybe he could startle her and make it happen again.

Then she was mainly Ginny again, still dragonfire at the edges, and Ralph was yelling to Charlie. "Fine, we'll hold them by mind until you get the wards up." He turned to her, voice softer with something else growing. "You'll have to help me out of the harness, I can't do it with my wand hand broken."

She was thinking of how she'd been 11 and sad they were leaving for Romania the next day to find he'd still come out for gnome call and was sitting on the steps, like always watching her good morning ritual. How he'd asked her how she'd gotten the gnomes and feeling defensive, but not really knowing had sat down next to him and told him what she'd not told anyone else because she was going to miss him on the steps so much. She had a vague memory of being sick and crying in the garden and asking for a hug. She felt Angus take it as she started to work on the harness latches.

Ralph was staring at her intently, at the bloody slash across the side of her neck and Ginny knew he was seeing it. To cover her embarrassment she said. "You know I had a dream that you were at Hogwarts this year."

She busied her hands, before she slipped back into sync in the rapidly growing cycle she had no control over. He was seething with anger, holding her in a hospital gown she'd been put in by two bludger hits to the back. Telling Madam Pomphrey and McGonagall that he did not care about visiting hours, they would not be staying the night because Amycus Carrow had told him at the game how he'd slapped Ginny and was looking forward to putting her in chains and he was taking her to her family. How his anger had spilled over as he stormed off with her then softened and twisted into something else as he'd looked at her sleeping face, "Godric, when did you grow up and get all pretty on me?"

How the sync fell as he was mumbling more things at the Ginny he carried and Ginny turned wide eyes on the man she'd had a crush on since forever, a man she'd written in her diary about. "You were there. You're how I got home at Easter, nobody ever said and I never thought to ask."

He nodded and his eyes darkened causing something in her stomach to twist in response and dragon fire to flare. He called over the edge, almost desperate. "C, hurry it up."

Then looking back at her his eyes got darker and her stomach flipped in response, "Have you ever-"

He didn't get to finish the cheesy line because Ginny tried, "been kissed on-"

Then they were kissing, gentle rapidly becoming frantic, images human and dragon passing through their minds. It didn't matter that they were both bloody, there were a hundred moments just between the two of them and his arm was pulling her firmly to straddle his lap. She knew people were screaming at them, but she was seeing him pop the valentine she'd sent him this year on his wall and she needed to pull him closer because Ralph had simply always gotten her and accepted her and how she'd always done the same in return, thrilled when he would talk to her about quidditch or include her in conversations. How he'd been her most regular correspondent and she'd dumped a boyfriend at school over him asking her to stop the friendship because it was embarrassing.

It ended abruptly, Angus delicately trying to pluck them from Helena's back so he could mate with her, but still biting Ginny a little. She was on the ground, Harry grabbing her upright giving her the most intense look and how she'd merely blinked at him then looked back at Ralph, still on the ground. Not knowing what to say to the demanding green eyes, said something else. "I don't know how to undo the spell."

Charlie's wand flashing and just being Ginny again with no dragon at her edges, but yet a different Ginny. She waved Harry's assistance off. "I'm going inside."

Charlie's angry voice floating back, "Why the hell did you take a dragon near heat? You were practically mauling Ginny!"

"He was mauling her." Harry's voice sounding furious.

The happily dazed answer, "Had to. Faster. Save my Ginny."

She walked in a fugue, finally coming off the high of battle and the fact being kissed on dragon back really was something else. She was realizing love was a lot more complicated than she'd ever thought it could be. Thinking her crush on Harry had started like all little witches from the story books. How she'd fallen in love with the flawed man he was anyway, how her childhood crush on her brother's friend had started out of kindness, how Ralph's soft spot began out of the fact she was magical and turned into something more recently. She needed to think about how love changed as you grew up and the two men and simply turned into the yellow parlor. Startled upon seeing the pensive, she became curious and thought taking a peek would do no harm. Then she was pitching downward.

* * *

A/N: Let me know how you feel about biscuit, hehe, and the changes in writing style. Plus who you'd like to see narrate again and just how you feel about the B/H if you're reading for that.


	12. Out of Order

A/N: Love the reviews, they help me keep on track with what people are reading for! Narrators today are Harry, Charlie and Neville (dixie326 a variation on your great idea).

* * *

 **Out of Order**

Harry was sitting in the Order meeting, everyone settled again, listening to mission reports being rapidly run through and trying not to think of how Ginny had brushed him off. As if the devil herself were spoken of, she came storming in, completely furious with her face sweaty and pale. She just looked at the room with her eyes huge and said, "She didn't break. I fell in and-"

Another shaky choke and Charlie came into the room behind her, Ginny didn't seem to notice. "Oh Ron," tremble, "She could hear you screaming her name and so she tried to think of you. Except then something attacked her mind and she just keep trying to think more about you. It just ended up all twisted." A deep breath, "Now her memory says you purposely made her cry so your troll could try and murder her. Then there was something about you making her play music for a three headed dog and having to jump in a pit to be strangled."

All of the blood ran out of Harry's face in pure horror, looking to his side Ron seemed to be in much the same state. They were both saying. "It didn't happen like that."

"Offensive occlumency." Tonks said softly, then louder. "She was using strong memories to try and keep a strong Legilimens out, usually it ends up damaging the memories forever."

"It drove several members of the First Order insane." McGonagall said quietly, folding and refolding her hands, looking grim.

Ginny couldn't seem to stop though. "She got hit again with the crucio and screamed to hear him scream because she was just trying to hang on. Then they were playing chess, except when she got hit with the mind curse it became life-size chess and Ron was ordering the pieces to destroy her. Oh, Ron."

"Oh my god." Ron said, simply dropping his face into his hands unable to listen to another word, his shoulders shaking with emotion.

An angry stomp, "I'm going to kill Bellatrix Lestrange, then bring her back so I can kill her again. And again. And -" Then Ginny burst into sobs and Harry couldn't tell if she was aiming for the door or the nearest redhead. She collided with Charlie, her nails digging into his chest so hard, he could see blood being drawn from where he was sitting.

He half rose, but found Fred was faster and shoved him back down with a point at Ron's silently shaking shoulders. Charlie was saying something to her as he began pulling her towards the door.

Then the other dragon tamer came in, shirt still torn from where Ginny had tried to rip it off of him while snogging on the dragon. Fred gently trying to coax her away, "Ginny, please come here. Let Bill have Charlie. Bill's going to need Charlie."

The dragon tamer looked rather untamed from Harry's point of view as he simply pried Ginny from Charlie starting to lift her, "Come to me, sweetheart. Be a little koala now, let's go get you healed up. C, McLaggen is on watch."

How Ginny still incoherently sobbing had simply wrapped her legs around him at the command, clutching his torn shirt as he took her from the room in hysterics followed by Fred. Harry's gut twisted in response as he watched, feeling it drop even lower as he looked at Ron, still with his face buried in his hands and knew he couldn't follow her. The room was silent, Professor McGonagall breaking it after a very long moment, "Mr. Weasley, I believe you were talking about the emergency Potterwatch for tonight? I believe Tartan should be a guest again, students should be told in advance when some of their classes have been cancelled for the foreseeable future."

Oliver Wood's voice, "I thought I was Tartan."

"No, you're United, Tartan was already taken. Did you not pay attention when you were on the air? We've only got a few minutes to meet Lee, Professor. He's setting up upstairs." George answered standing up.

"I think someone wiped me or the bludger hit did it." Wood said in a general apology.

Harry found his own mouth working as he stared at where Ginny had been, his heart still twisting for hers, wishing he'd gotten up to sweep her away, but knowing Ron needed him right now. "I'm going on too, without an alias. Before I get myself killed everyone needs to know about the girl who didn't bloody break and the one who stole a dragon. They're what keep me going, that's where the hope is. C'mon, Ron."

Ron rose, bloodless and silent as if he were a zombie and Harry ignored the protests of him going on the air, fury building in his veins. Stopping only at the door, "You're making Hermione relive getting tortured for your own safety even though we told you she didn't break. Maybe Potterwatch listeners have more trust in us than you do."

The he stormed out and slammed the door behind him, dragging Ron with him.

* * *

Charlie grabbed a decanter of firewhiskey and poured himself a glass of water before heading to the yellow parlor. He ran into Remus just coming in, looking tired and tense. "Why are there dragons outside?"

Charlie said, "Ginny stole one to get the pensive here. Bill and Hermione are in now and if based on Ginny's state after she fell in, I need to be there when they come out."

Remus followed him in, choosing to lean against the door, causing Charlie to raise his eyebrows. Remus' voice was clipped, "I need to know if she'll need wolfsbane with the moon so close. We could smell Greyback all over her. Bill hasn't seen any bites, but it wouldn't be the first time he's bitten someone and covered it with another wound."

Charlie raised his eyebrows again and let that sink in, then shifted his weight. He was thankful Ginny's sobs seemed to be moving farther away. Today, was not a good day. It was not a pleasant trip home to see the family and give a simple update at the Order meeting. Today was the ugly truth of fighting in a war. "Since I'm out of the meeting for this, want the news."

"Is it anything drastic?" Remus asked.

"The Veelas butchered the Bulgarian Death Eaters ambassadors and we have the dragons on our side now, even if it's due to my thieving sister." Charlie paused, not knowing just how much Remus knew about dragons or how they communicated. "She and Robinson took them into battle for our side first. They found it very exciting and are talking to their families and showing them who they're allowed to kill."

"Ginny was able to do the spell to really communicate? Isn't that rather rare?" Remus asked in interest, apparently not caring that Ginny had given dragonkind a kill list.

Charlie nodded and poured himself some firewhiskey, "Part of why so few us make it through the training period, neurologically we have to be a slightly different wavelength than most wizards for it to work properly. From what I can tell Ginny might just speak dragon naturally like she does gnome, or from how she still can speak parseltongue since it's similar brain path. I had to hit her several times with the unlinking spell for it to even take." He took a sip, "Helena will want to nest here and Angus will want to stay with her. Knowing her temperament she might try to come back even if she's moved."

"Dragons at headquarters, excellent addition." Sarcasm then a sigh, "How long have they been in there?"

"No idea, Ginny gave them the pensive about two hours ago. Do you know when Greyback got involved? Ginny fell in and didn't mention him when she came out."

"No." Remus poured his own firewhiskey exhausted, but too tense to sit. "I'm assuming you'll be staying then?"

Charlie nodded, "Robinson probably will as well, we'll send McLaggen back to our reserve to help cover our shifts. He'll need a new wand first, his is barely working for him since Ginny dueled with it."

"Dora or Andromeda can bring Mr. Ollivander over tomorrow to help him get sorted. If she had to use his, does Ginny need one as well?"

"Ginny still has hers, she just dueled with both. Percy and I used to give her our wands to play dueling with Bill. She thought it was only fair if because Bill already knew magic. We shouldn't have done it, but Perce thought she was so cute when Bill would hit her with little jets of water, making the most silly threats at him in retaliation."

Remus disagreed, "Perhaps it saved her life tonight. She's clearly upgraded from silly threats to dragon theft. What exactly happened?"

The door opened and Mr. Weasley came in, he'd missed most of the commotion tending to soothing his distraught wife. He gave Charlie a quick squeeze. "Hi, Charlie. Ginny will be ok once she calms down enough to be able to swallow any potions."

"Will you grab some for us to have in here for Bill and Hermione, before she smashes all of them? Ralph will keep trying to give them to her." Charlie asked, looking around at the room and simply seeing vodka and Ginny's school bag.

His dad nodded and headed for the door, "He's not. Charlie, when did they start dating? He's being very affectionate with her."

"Bloody hell, about two hours ago on the back of a dragon in heat. Tell him to make sure he's fully unlinked and I'll handle the other part." Charlie was going to have to have a long talk with Ralph about everything, Ginny wasn't even of age yet. Not that it seemed to be stopping her from doing as she pleased anyway.

His dad nodded and left. Charlie ran a hand over his face and before Remus could ask, Bill and Hermione were back. She was crying and he was shaking as he touched her face, pulling her close. Her words trembling, "I'm fine, it's just a memory, Bill."

"Bill?" Charlie asked tentatively to see his brother shove Hermione behind him, his eyes completely torn as he looked around. Seeing it was just Charlie he grabbed a vase and began vomiting in it. He fell to his knees and taking her with him, pulling her back to his chest in what clearly was a painful position. "Bill, let go of her. You're hurting her."

Still dry heaving he loosened his grip and she scrabbled to her knees, hugging him around his back. Her voice shrill with worry. "Oh, Bill. I'm so sorry, you're ok now. We're ok."

He stopped heaving for a moment and looked at her, then to Charlie. "She didn't break."

Then she pulled his vase away to use it for herself, only vomiting once, before pushing it back to him. He dry heaved again and looked at Remus, "She was scratched when he wasn't transformed."

Remus nodded and he went back to shaking and clutching at her. "Let's get him onto the couch."

They tried approaching again and found that he'd pushed Hermione back to his far side away from them. Remus was very gentle, "We're not going to touch her, she's safe here. Just let us help you up."

He let Charlie pull him up and pulled her up into his arms. Charlie was able to handle him to the couch by his shoulders, having to take on most of Bill's weight. "Here's some water, Bill. Rinse out your mouth."

Hermione held the glass to his lips for him, "Grab the vodka or the firewhiskey, I think he's going into shock."

She took her own sip of water as well, impatient as Charlie poured Bill a cup and Remus passed her chocolate. He was able to help with the glass this time, immediately holding it back out for more, refilled and passed to Hermione who took a long sip then lifted it back to his mouth, kissing the side of his face. "This one is for you."

He took a long drink, then caught sight of her arm and his eyes became even more wretched, "Your arm. He's ripping it out of its socket so that she can carve-"

Hermione abruptly kissed him, cutting off the words with her mouth, "We don't have to say it out loud. Nobody sees, remember?"

Charlie rubbed his face to hide the pit of horror at Bill's words and Harry was right. They'd made her relive it and now Bill was a mess too. She was still kissing at him, "Bill, let me back in, please."

He shook his head and then took another sip, tears beginning to stream down his face. "Hermione, you seem to be more put together at the moment. Can you tell us why he's like this?" Remus asked gently just as Professor McGonagall was entering the room.

Hermione looked horrified herself, guilt crashing across her face as she stopped kissing at Bill. "He didn't want it to hurt me so he did something to the latch. It was just like a horror movie for me…but for him it was everything and I couldn't get us out of the pensive."

"I'll handle it, Remus. You're coming up on Potterwatch, cancel morning Transfiguration lessons for me? I don't think I'll be going back tonight. Send Healer Prewett when you can." Remus rose and gave them a sadly thoughtful look as he left the room.

"What do you mean by everything?" Charlie said, sipping his own firewhiskey thinking he was going to need it and refilling the cup they were sharing.

"No, I want my vodka by the pensive and bring his vase." Then she kissed a few more tears off his face, leaning to beg in his ear again to be let back in.

Charlie delivered the items, handing her a goblet of juice and vodka. "Hermione, what do you mean by everything?"

She took a long sip. "It's blurry for me, but I think he felt the entire thing." Tears started running down her face, "He could feel the torture, but he was also with me trying to comfort me. He had to throw Ginny out; she fell in. Then he just started screaming at them 'No, no, you can't I love her.' Now it's my fault he's so broken."

"He'll be fine, Miss Granger. Give him some chocolate." McGonagall said firmly. Charlie put his face in his hands, why did Bill always have to play the hero? Why couldn't he just be a fool in love without taking drastic measures that ended up with him hurt. He looked up to see Bill was even more in distress over Hermione crying, trying to kiss her tears away.

"Hermione, eat some of the chocolate yourself. One of you has to stay calm, your tears are making it harder for him." Charlie told her gently as she started to cry harder.

She didn't listen to either of them, sobbing at him, "Let me back in, let me back in. Let me help you."

Bill touched a bruise on her neck, "No, I hurt you too."

Godric, that was a hickey. She was shaking her head, "No, undo the kink." She paused, "That's how you did it without me realizing, isn't it?"

He nodded still touching the spot and then she began to snog him aggressively enough that Charlie looked away, finding McGonagall doing the same. She gave him a tight smile, "Not the most conventional start to their love story, but perhaps now he'll stop volunteering for every dangerous mission. He's as bad as Remus was."

"Godric and I was just telling him everyone was going to judge him like crazy for being with her. Dammit, I hate when Dora is right." Charlie said before realizing who he was talking to, "Sorry about my language, we curse a lot at the reserve."

He got a looser smile and knew she was thinking about the broomstick incident, "Pour me a glass, Charlie."

The door opened again a few minutes later and his mother and father came in, his mother still looking blotchy from crying, hexing and checking on various children. They started at the sight of Bill and Hermione kissing, both still crying. Professor McGonagall explained calmly, "She's trying to repair their magical latch, it appears he kinked it to protect her."

"Oh, William. Didn't you learn anything last time?" His mother put a hand to her heart as she moved to sit down by Charlie.

Hermione abruptly pulled away and took a deep breath, realizing she had a larger audience. "I've got one kink-wait No, you don't get to do it again!" Then was back at him.

"Charlie, are they? I know he had feelings, but she's just so young. Oh, poor poor Ron." His mother fluttered, tears thickening on her lashes. "Oh, Ron."

"Yes, Mum and you were already married by her age so you can't pull the age card." Charlie answered, wondering why he always got stuck explaining Bill's love life to his mother. "Fred and I saw them together and I hadn't seen him that happy since before Fleur gave him the ultimatum to propose or break up."

He knew his mother still disliked Fleur and wasn't sorry when she left. It had the desired effect, she smiled and her tears disappeared, "Oh, that's lovely to hear! They have always gotten along so wonderfully, spent most of the summer together now that I think about it."

Charlie took an involuntary glance at Bill's hoarse noise to see where Hermione was very determinedly giving his brother a hickey and just turned away. She pulled back a moment later, triumphant. "Now there. We match and neither of us are throwing kinks, understand?"

Bill's breathing was off kilter, but he nodded and she shoved firewhiskey and chocolate at him, before she frowned. "It's different now, the flow of magic between us."

She looked back at him and looked away as if she was going to cry again, her voice horrified. "Oh, biscuit. It's on loop for you."

He nodded and simply held out his glass again, "He's running his nails-"

"Please, let's think of something else." Hermione said desperately, giving him a small kiss. "Remember how I sent you an angry letter because there was a book I really wanted to check out, but it was always already checked out? Madame Pince finally gave me the name of the student, and it was you! You wrote a really long letter back apologizing and telling me when you left Hogwarts you filled your trunk with your favorite library books. How you'd broken the charms to keep them at Hogwarts and always meant to replace them when you had the money, but then nobody asked so you thought they'd just gotten more copies. Remember, Bill?"

He nodded and Hermione ignored the idle glare his former Head of House sent his way, hoarse, "I mailed them."

"Stories help me when I'm like that." Hermione said to them as an aside, "You did, you mailed them to me with a copy for me and the library each time. So I have a lot of books that say 'From, Bill Weasley' and when you sent a whole bunch at once the twins helped me break into the library to re-shelve them. I never told you about it, but George was very brave in setting a distraction and getting detention so Fred and I could finish."

"Well Granger, George will be pleased that his valiant efforts to help me try and ask you to the Yule Ball didn't go unnoticed. Ginny's calm now, Charlie do you have the stuff you use on the reserve for dragon bites? Robinson wants it for her back." Fred said from the doorway.

"It's at Bill's." Charlie said, "He got her to stop crying?"

Fred entered the room took a glance at his mother's tenuous emotional state of about to break down again as she stared at Bill and shook his head, "I gave her a muggle calm down shot."

"You did what to your sister?" His mother began to explode as Muriel followed him in.

"Mum, relax. It's fine, here I'll show you." Then he pulled a syringe from his pocket and promptly stabbed her in the thigh, releasing the drug. Charlie watched him push the medicine in, thinking if anyone deserved to feel calm today it might just be Mum.

"Fred, that's not how you do it." Hermione said weakly.

"Yes it is, Alicia's allergic to nuts and stabbed herself in the thigh so she wouldn't die our first year. I had to stab her once too because Harry didn't know and brought the wrong cookies to practice." Fred said.

"That's different, Fred. Did you at least clean the needle after Ginny?" Muriel asked, eyeing the pair on the couch and moving over to begin waving her wand.

"Of course." Fred replied.

"No, you can't touch her." Bill's voice was raspy as he clutched her closer.

"You've got to be hurting the chit, William, don't hold her so tightly. I'll run your diagnostics first."

As Muriel swished and waved Hermione looked at Fred, "You were going to ask me to the ball? Is that why you suddenly started carrying my bag and showing up between classes?"

Fred shrugged, "Yep, then you agreed to go on a stroll at me to look at the ship, I'd overhear you ask Ginny to help with your hair and got my courage all plucked up. Then Ginny told me it was because you'd been asked earlier in the day to the ball by a Durmstrang student and I needed to ask Angelina for George since we were both giant chickens."

Professor McGonagall smiled at him, "I believe Filius owes me several sickles, I had thought that's what you were up to and am sincerely glad it was not another prank."

Fred grinned back, "Betting on your student's dates, you should be ashamed, Tartan. Hermione, I just kept carrying your books though, you had so many. I think at one point I had your books, Alicia's and some random second years and was just feather lighting everyone's bags." He paused and looked rather affronted at his mother's expression, "Don't look so surprised Mum, we might creatively interpret rules, but you didn't raise us to be heathens. We're gentlemen, except Ginny, who might really be a heathen." He shrugged, "I gave her a second shot since she was threatening to take a dragon."

Muriel cut them off, "William's in a bit of physical shock, but the latch is twisted. She's latched to him and he's latched onto her. Whatever happened to you, girl, I'm sorry for it. We'll have to research dual latches, I've only seen one and left the rotation before it was resolved."

There was silence, Hermione breaking it. "Is that why I can see what's running in his brain at the edges of mine?"

"Presumably so, while rare this certainly isn't the first case of it happening. We'll contact the known specialists of the day if we need to." Muriel replied. "Now let's have a look at you."

Bill 's raspy voice was adamant. "No. You don't touch her. You'll hurt her." Then he began sobbing again and flung himself at Hermione so hard she bumped her head on the coffee table. They let him for a few moments, watching in dismay, as she started to mumble at him.

"Girl, stop being a nitwit and whispering nonsense at him and tell him I'm a healer." Muriel ordered her.

Bill rose, lifting Hermione, "I'm going to see if I can drop it in the pensive."

His legs were steadier and nobody protested when he set her on the ground under the desk, understanding his need to protect at the moment and wanting to be gentle because of this stupid new latch. Charlie preoccupied, felt the conversation rise and fall about what the possibilities were and glanced at Bill's back, before abruptly realizing there were runes glowing where he'd shoved her. He disarmed his brother, practically yelling the spell. "Bill, what the bloody hell are you doing?"

Thus began the hour long stand-off between Bill and Muriel with Hermione trapped in a little protective bubble nobody else could figure out how to remove and nobody wanting to give Bill a wand. It ended in two ways. Muriel commanding Charlie and Fred to use Fred's needle on Bill and the two of them held Bill down to jab him with the calm down shot. Then Bill, still sitting outside where he'd shoved her, while calmer was still refusing to tell anyone how to undo it had gotten up and punched Charlie to get a wand when a very drunken Hermione started sobbing. Telling everyone how she wanted Bill to take her to a healer because it hurt, but she didn't want him to see because it would upset him.

So began the second stand off between Bill and Hermione which resulted in Charlie having to sit in the giant bathroom on the floor with his legs across Bill's lap to keep him from moving. One of Hermione's hands dangling out from behind a privacy curtain to clutch his with Muriel and McGonagall back there. How Charlie had randomly talked to Bill about anything, everything and started when the door opened to show a tear stained, rather discombobulated Ginny holding his best mate's hand. "You can't summon them off! What if you pull my eyeballs out?"

How he'd nodded at Charlie, grinned apologetically and picked Ginny up to set her on the counter, "I'm going to take the contacts out the muggle way, sweetheart. My brother wears them."

"You're going to touch my eyeballs and they already feel like they're on fire." Ginny said, pushing her hands up to try and cover them.

"Yes, but don't you trust me?" The gentle rejoinder that had her peeking out and Charlie found himself stopping his narration of dragon mating habits at Bill to watch them. Her hands peeking down as Ralph gently tied her hair back, before washing his hands and putting his fingers in her eye. He pulled back, something on his finger, "See sweetheart, now we've got your pretty brown eye back. Just once more."

Another horrific moment of him touching Ginny's other eye, holding her so she wouldn't flinch. "All done, now lean back so I can put solution in your eyes."

Charlie found his voice, opting for professional rather than the growing anger he could feel at seeing this again. "Robinson, you're completely untied from Helena? McLaggen has them both just contained?"

"Yes." He was helping Ginny lean back with one arm, the other dropping something in her eye.

"Is it more than the dragon in heat?" Charlie ground out, not wanting this to even be a possibility, already knowing the answer. He'd seen Ralph rereading her letters and writing entire tomes back to her lately, how he'd just shown up after Christmas with all of her gnomes.

"Yes." He pulled her up, letting her hair loose and giving her a tender look. "For me at least. Unsure for Gin here."

Charlie felt the spark of anger beginning to grow and Ginny just randomly said, "I think I might have killed someone."

"Me too, sweetheart." Ralph said, squeezing her shoulder softly in understanding.

"Ginny, I'm fairly certain you didn't. Robinson, it's likely you did from what I could see going on with you. People were flying left and right away from you." McGonagall called from behind the curtain as if this was a completely normal conversation.

"I wonder if they still have their eyeballs." Ginny contemplated, rubbing a hand at her own eye.

"Let's get you food and to bed and we'll talk all about eyeballs in the morning." He helped her down. "Professor, I used bludgers, worked like a charm."

"Why am I not surprised you thought to use quidditch?" McGonagall called sounding amused, "Get her to bed, Robinson. She's had a long day."

"Could you feel the fire when you touched my eyeball?" Ginny asked as she was guided out by his hand on her back, the other holding hers. Fred had definitely overdone it with his shot, probably out of sheer excitement to get to give someone one.

"I do not like it, Bill. They've always had their own little bond, but she's too young." Charlie said, seeing Bill was starting to rise and simply slamming him down with his legs, "Don't make me bodybind you. Hermione is fine."

Hermione's head popped out of the curtain, dropping a kiss on Bill's head. While Muriel scolded him. "Shush, my Charlie. When I was Ginevra's age I was already a married apprentice and Minerva was busy breaking her own heart. Let them be and I'll chaperone them, just like you'll have these two in your charge. They'll still probably be latched during the full moon and I rather See William hitting you again."

"Me?" Hermione asked and Charlie wondered just how terrible of a chaperone Muriel would be, by either letting them run loose when lucid or completely on top of Ginny when senile.

"You were just scratched, dear, at most your monthlies will change their pattern. Remus has accidentally scratched Nymphadora and she's fine." Muriel soothed, "Now take this, I'll have to sedate you to get the hip properly in place so you don't feel like you're dueling Merlin himself. You'll be very sore and still will need to keep the weight off for a few days, mind you."

"Don't hurt her, I'll duel him." Bill tried to rise and Charlie just decided to fully sit on him and reached up for the extra calm down shot, not particularly wanting to hex him.

"Bill, I will jab you with this, give you firewhiskey, a calming draught or you can sit still. Those are your options, there is no bashing through that curtain. Hermione doesn't want you to see." Charlie kept his voice firm, waving the needle at him.

"Do not give him anymore calming draughts or firewhiskey, my Charlie. They'll both already have hangovers. Give him a hangover potion, if you'd like."

Charlie started to reach for it only to find Bill shaking his head and twitching. "It hurt her."

"Not everything in the world hurt Hermione, Bill." Charlie said, tired, exasperated and knowing he was going to be up all night. He hadn't slept last night and now he was going to be stuck on a cot bed on call right next to the master bed at Shell, handling their freak outs. Not that he didn't want to do it, he just also wanted sleep and that looked unlikely.

"Charlie don't give that to him! The lucidity potion made me go nuts." Hermione's voice was getting really sleepy, but still firm.

"Oh, that must be why-" Muriel said then flickered, "Who the bloody hippogriff are you?"

"Drink this, dear." Professor Mcgonagall said, "Sit and have a cup of tea, she's a girl that needs healing."

Charlie rolled his eyes heavenward. "Can we hurry this up? So I can take them and put them to bed before he hits the bad spot again? You know, where I get punched in the face and she gets a little safety pyramid?"

* * *

All over Hogwarts students and faculty were listening into Potterwatch: a Headmaster in his study who would twitch into a smile at the news, a large group in the Room of Requirement who would chatter and erupt into a celebration, and the rest hidden away in their dormitories.

River happily announced, "Please welcome Tartan for the Hogwarts Edition before our special guest speaks."

Tartan's voice wasn't her usual matter of fact tones, it sounded almost smug, "Pureblood studies and Dark Arts will be cancelled for the rest of the week. The professors need some time in the infirmary to recover from their injuries inflicted by Easter."

"Don't sell yourself short Tartan, you went to save Ginn- er Easter." River replied and the Room of Requirement went completely silent.

"I prefer to believe I was a mere assistance in the matter, her Professors would have ended up in much the same state between Easter exploding brooms and her dragon."

-"Ginny?!" A Hufflepuff.

"I hope she killed them." A Gryffindor.

"Oh Rowena, is she the one that tried to kill us all first year?" A Ravenclaw.

"Yes, she's the scary one and now she's got a dragon. Maybe she's got a thing for reptiles." Another Ravenclaw hissing back.

How Neville would shush them with wild pride in his chest for the girl who'd helped lead this resistance before going to the hospital wing and never coming back, "We're missing it!"

Abruptly a new voice came on, an old lady's voice. "Longbottom, if you're listening I have news. This is-"

"Crazy Bat." Ranger cut in and it sounded like he got whacked and begrudgingly reintroduced her, "Fine, this is Lucidity."

"Neville, your parents are safe with your grandmother, so keep causing a ruckus. Your father would like me to tell you how proud he is to hear what you're doing and your mother can't wait to discuss herbology with you, as it was her favorite subject too."

Neville was frozen at the words and could feel his classmates turning to look at him in confusion as Lucidity went on, "My nephew Rapier and I invented a potion that makes even those of us who are the most lost in our minds found again."

He smiled, watery, his insides unclenching and so much hope beginning to bloom in his chest. He wanted that conversation more than anything and didn't realize when tears started to leak out. Glad when Lavender sitting next to him, leaned over and gave him a long hug, rubbing his back as he cried slightly into her shoulder at the news.

Tartan went on, "We're also happy to share Dean Thomas and Luna Lovegood are both alive and well."

Somebody in the room whooped happily, Seamus yelling, "Go Dean! I knew you'd make it on the run!"

A new voice came on, one that everyone in the room recognized. "As are Ron, Hermione and I."

"Potterwatch, I bring you our special guest: Harry Potter." River said excitedly.

The room went silent, "You're probably wondering why we're not at school, but Dumbledore gave us a task to help end this war. If you've ever met Hermione you know she's prepared for any situation, read all of the books and learned what she could and then some. You'll also remember how just strong she is, how she started the DA."

He faltered and Tartan cut in, "She also had the school board afraid of her for repeatedly throwing her cat at Lucius Malfoy on behalf of Easter. Then I think her cat did it for pure pleasure."

Seamus whispered, "I remember that she lied in Transfiguration to get out, saying her cat had been lost and we saw her just throw Crookshanks directly into his face through the window."

Ranger was speaking, "River and I once saw her cat trying to get into the Headmaster's office hissing like mad, so we might have transfigured a ledge for the window and levitated him up. She gave us giant thank you hugs!"

Harry was talking again. "That's Hermione, I've fought next to her repeatedly, seen her give everything up to help me. She's the strongest person I know and if you know her too, you won't be surprised that when tortured she didn't break. She didn't break when they carved Mudblood into forearm or even when they tried to break her mind open. She simply gave up more of herself to help us win, she made Them twist her memories. To not break, she made them take Ron from her. So if your listening and need hope look to Hermione, look to Easter who stole a dragon for her and know that we're still fighting." There was a pause, "If you have memories of Ron and Hermione, please give them to your local Order member, because I'm going to fight to give her that back. They can put scars on her, but they can't stop her. They can't stop us if we work together."

The room was quiet, someone shuddered and then Parvati shuffled in her school bag and pulled out a quill and ink. Everyone watched curiously in silence as she pushed up her sleeve and very purposefully wrote 'Mudblood' on her forearm. Lavender sat down next to her and held her arm out, too. Soon students all over the room were doing the same for each other. It wasn't a huge sign of resistance, but in that moment it felt that way as Neville had Parvati write his. It became a symbol as other students saw their arms the next day and more and more forearms started to bear the word. It became a rallying call when some of the teacher's arms started bearing it as well, less obviously, but enough shifting of robes so the students could see their allegiance.

* * *

A/N: So that's our stopping point for today. Reviews are always adored, as you can see they get written into the story! Especially on opinions on whether Ginny's potential non-Harry romance is explored, I'm not against Ginny/Harry, I just wish we got to see more of her side expanded over it simply being inevitable.


	13. Of Memories and Ministries

A/N: Wow, I'm so glad for all the feedback and that people were touched by the Hogwarts scene! Keep the feedback coming! For this chapter your narrators are Percy and Charlie, Fred and Oliver.

* * *

 **Of Memories and Ministries**

Percy's flatmate turned the radio off after the sign off password and Percy realized his hands were shaking. He knew Hermione, she was practically family and she'd been tortured. Rafael seemed to feel the same, his hand was clenched. "Percy, we know her. That's a little girl we cheered for when she got sorted into Gryffindor."

"I know." Percy said, feeling horror and the familiar conflict rising in him.

"Perce….I know we said we wouldn't pressure you about your family, but don't you think it's time to just bite the bullet and swallow your pride? If Healer Beecham, who's just as stubborn as you, can have a change of heart and let us start treating muggles again, why can't you just go back?"

"You're treating muggles now?" Percy asked to distract himself from his whirling thoughts, he'd been debating this internally for awhile.

"Not at St. Mungo's, it's against the law. He took a space in muggle London today and is discreetly asking who will claim a sick day and take shifts there." Rafael responded, looking intense. "I'm taking tomorrow, apparently your Aunt Muriel talked sense into him. Though he sort of made it sound like he might have been blackmailed."

"Aunt Muriel is senile." Percy said, his stomach clenching and unclenching, could he actually go back? Would they still want him? Would they forgive him?

Rafael stood and headed to leave the room, he paused at the doorway. "Perce, I've known you since I was eleven and I'm going to say this on behalf the crew. Stop being a prat and go home before it's too late and somebody dies. What if McGonagall hadn't gone to help your kid sister tonight? So just go home, you'll regret it otherwise."

Then he was gone and Percy put his head in his hands, trying to figure out how he could have let himself be so blinded by ambition and whether ambition was simply enough. After a moment, he found that his family was worth way more than his pride and he headed for the door. A twist later he was staring at where the Burrow should have been and he swallowed. He knew they were in hiding, had worried when Dad had stopped coming to work, had worried when he heard Ginny wasn't at Hogwarts. Another twist, where was Muriel's? What was that roaring noise? Another twist.

Percy stared at where the twins shop used to be in horror, it appeared to be completely destroyed and he wondered if the Death Eaters had done it or if the twins had exploded it themselves in dramatics. He wouldn't put it past them. For one second he had the horrible thought they'd died, that they'd gone out like their uncles and how it would completely destroy Mum. He breathed in and out, logic seeping back in: they were fine, they were still running the business by owl and the Ministry was actively trying to shut them down. He didn't approve of their pranks or business, but he never wanted to see their dream destroyed either. He took a step forward and a phoenix feather quill appeared writing words in the air, the handwriting distinctly George's then switching to Fred's at the next line.

"You wanted a Riddle but we'll give you a rhyme,

Because You-Know-Who is on borrowed time.

If you've got a mark on your arm,

Take another step and come to harm.

If you're under the Imperius Curse,

Take a step and come off worse.

If you happen to be a snake,

You won't catch a break.

If you resemble a pink toad,

Twitch and you'll explode.

If you're He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named,

Fuck you, you'll be seriously maimed."

Back and forth their handwriting went until the last line and the poem hung in the air for a moment before exploding into the blazing W logo of their shop. Percy took a shaky breath, sometimes the twins really did have way too much nerve. This would surely get them killed on sight. What next? Should he portkey to Romania to try and find Charlie? He knew Bill had come back to England, but not where he was. He rubbed his face, the only place portkeys could be created now was the Ministry, he could go back, leave a resignation letter and create one. He twisted into one of the apparition points in the lobby, expecting it to be empty. It wasn't, Dolores Umbridge was there talking to snatchers, she looked up and gave a girlish smile at him. "Oh, here is Mr. Weasley, perhaps he'll handle this on my behalf." A small giggle and Percy's stomach turned, "We've had another batch brought in, but I do need my beauty sleep. Do you mind handling the transaction?"

Before Percy could speak, a very bruised Katie Bell did and Percy's stomach dropped in horror, she and Alicia were both there looking worse for the wear. Oliver had sent his friend and fiancee into hiding. "I keep telling you, I'm a half-blood. My dad's just a squib."

"Well, dear, unfortunately you'll be held until a truly magical member of your family can come to the Ministry and vouch on your behalf. Same for you, Miss Spinnet." Umbridge's smile was serene in its maliciousness.

Alicia argued back, "Well her family can't, as they all got murdered last time He was in power."

"I'm sorry for your loss." It was completely insincere and then she smiled again, "Actually, Mr. Weasley I think I'd rather handle this on my own, they were my students after all. You'll be going to Azkaban in the morning."

Percy nodded mutely and Alicia and Katie glared at him, Umbridge turned away and he mouthed "I'll get you out." He turned and headed back towards the apparition point, stopping when she called. "Percy? Why are you leaving, you just arrived?"

Percy turned to look back at her and finally saw what his siblings had seen, not someone who loved rules and used them for improvement to society. She was a truly horrible person who'd used her own ambition to create a web of cruelty he'd participated in. He wasn't sure if he was more disgusted by her or himself. He responded formally, "I was coming in to see if I'd gotten the report from the Department of Magical Creatures, but just realized I'd told Horris to owl me at home. Have a good night, Dolores."

She accepted his answer and he twisted, the pull behind his navel landing him at the apparition point of Oliver's house. It took a few moments to remember, Oliver wasn't there this week, he was staying with Puddlemere at the dorm house for mid-season training week. He needed Oliver for this: Oliver had to know about Alicia, Oliver could contact the Order. Another twist and he showed up, seeing Oliver had just arrived and was walking towards the house. He threw his voice. "Oliver?"

"Percy? What are you doing here so late? What's wrong?" Oliver stopped and turned, he looked exhausted and oddly singed at the edges.

Percy strode towards him, "I just came from the Ministry and they've got Alicia," Oliver went pale at the news, "-And Katie Bell. They're to go to Azkaban in the morning."

Oliver shook his head furiously, striding back towards Percy, his burr growing. "What happened? I had them safe and there's no way in hell I'm letting them take her."

Percy nodded, "I don't know, but I'll help you. I know where they'll be held for the night with five others scheduled for transport."

Oliver ran an agitated hand through his short hair, mumbling to himself, the same intense look he'd always gotten when trying to figure out a quidditch play. "Keep it together, Wood. We can do this. Plan. Think of a plan. It's just another play." His intensity carried over when he demanded information, "Specs?"

Percy knew he was rambling slightly, "There will be the lobby security guard, another guard and a dementor who will raise the alarm as soon as they're gone. Their wands will have been broken, so they'll have to go out via floo. There's five others scheduled for transport as well."

Oliver looked speculatively at the house then at Percy, then back to the house again and Percy watched the spark of an idea catch on his face. "Puddlemere vs. Chudley."

"What are you talking about, Oliver?" Percy asked him in complete confusion. Now really wasn't the time for Oliver to get quidditch minded, except it completely was.

Oliver was talking so fast Percy could barely follow. "The Daily Prophet has that long standing running joke that Chudley will eventually kidnap all of Puddlemere to get us out of the league because we've been thrashing them for over a decade. What if tonight is the night it happens? We've got a house full of pureblood wizards we can swap the others out with and come morning they'll just find a stranded quidditch team in the cell."

Percy adjusted his glasses thinking intensely, Oliver had certainly shown him more insane plays before and had them work. "Would they be willing?"

Oliver's jaw tightened as they walked onwards, "They know I've been on Potterwatch and some suspect I'm Order. They all support it, but we'll have to kidnap them for it to be believable. You know? In case a Legilimens checks their minds, I don't want to see another Hermione."

Percy choked at the name, "You saw her?"

He nodded, his burr thickening, "Yes, and it'll be over my dead body before anyone lays a finger on Ali like that." He swallowed, "Little thing looked like she'd been locked in a closet with bludgers and knives, Bill had to carry her." He rubbed his jaw, "Poor bloke broke his brain, but damn he can throw a punch."

Percy's stomach tightened, his words rushed, what if it was already too late to make amends? "What's wrong with Bill?"

Oliver managed a tight smile for him, before darkening, "Finally ready to go back? It's about damn time. I'm not real sure, I just was called in to help restrain him after Healer Prewett reset some bones, he effing flipped at seeing her all bandaged and in a sling. He wanted to attack your aunt."

Percy swallowed thickly suddenly feeling very protective of his baby sister, "Ginny? Did she really-"

"-Yes and she's fine. Now back on track, Perce. How the hell are we going to kidnap them? Got any darkness powder on you?"

"No, and that would leave us blind. Look, can you get them to play wand in the jar or something so I can just stun everyone? How are we going to make it look like Chudley took them anyway?" Percy asked, trying to run plans in his mind, they'd have to get Chudley gear or kidnap them too for of this to be even remotely believable for the players and the guard.

Oliver rubbed his jaw again, "Last part is easy, I've got a ton of polyjuice and some hairs from the Chudley coach and captain."

Percy was completely bewildered, "Why?"

"Oh, we occasionally spike Coach's pumpkin juice to have him yell at us as different people." Percy made a disgusted face and Oliver shrugged, "What? It's all in good fun, I've been yelled at by myself. Turns out even I can't understand me at a certain point of enraged yelling. Draw out the Ministry and I'll go say hi and grab the stuff. It'll need to look like I'm part of the group."

Percy did as he was told and when Oliver came back they began detailing the plan. "You'll have to go as the Chudley person, the guard hates Puddlemere. You're better at jokes and sweet talking than I am. Just get him to let you throw them in a holding cell for a minute. Won't this come out when Chudley denies it?"

"Maybe, maybe not. I relocated the captain's squib sister last week, so he might provide cover. Either way it doesn't matter, as long as Puddlemere's memory shows them being kidnapped." Oliver said confidently, then more thoughtfully. "Besides, we'll be unconscious and can just say the prisoners must have stolen one of our wands to break themselves out. Steal Chang's, she's been grating on my nerves."

It took them 30 minutes to finish planning, 15 minutes of Percy polyjuicing himself and waiting to blow the door off and start throwing stunners at the wandless team sitting around a jar laughing. Another 45 minutes to re-polyjuice himself as Oliver with everyone tied up properly so they could apparate into the Ministry without splinching anyone. 10 minutes of Chudley Oliver bashing Puddlemere and how he wanted to just throw them in a cell for a minute, talking over his teammates protests that they'd been kidnapped. Another 12 minutes to get them down near the cells and to knock everyone out, five seconds for Oliver to decide just to stun the second guard for the sake of time.

Then they were in the cell and Alicia was throwing herself at him, kissing him passionately. "Oh, Oliver I knew you'd come. I was so scared."

Percy felt himself blush, while Oliver coughed. "Ali, you just kissed Percy, I'm over here, polyjuiced." She looked completely confused and slightly disgusted, which might have offended Percy any other day.

"Everyone, take a player and strip them to their undergarments and put their clothes on. We're going to polyjuice you into them and get you out, we'll leave them here. Get moving."

Percy helped a crying woman rip the clothes off and get herself changed before vanishing all of the extra clothes. It took seven minutes for everyone to become Puddlemere United, Oliver to become himself and Percy to become Chudley's captain, two more minutes for Oliver and Alicia to say goodbye, her crying lightly that he had to stay for it to be believable. One minute for Oliver to tell everyone the location of his safehouse and cast a patronus for himself and teammates, he gave them a huge farewell grin. "It'll hold for us because I know you're safe, Ali, and Perce is finally going home. Now get out of here."

Then they were passing the dementor and running for the lower level floo fireplaces to get out in case the dementor raised alarm that he'd had seven, then fifteen and seven. Percy's thoughts crazily hoping the dementor would simply think they had been snatchers escorting prisoners down. "Go for the Leaky Caldron, it'll cover our tracks. Whoever's the captain, order a round of shots to keep Tom out of trouble. I'll side along groups after to the safehouse."

He flooed himself and found everything was going to plan, a burn of alcohol and several twists later he stood in Oliver's house and swallowed. "Make yourselves at home. Alicia can help you get settled. We'll stay here for the night."

He summoned his gopher patronus, thinking of how happy he'd been on his seventeenth birthday, and sent a very long overdue message to his family indicating the situation and asking for forgiveness.

* * *

Charlie yawned as he stumbled downstairs to a very late breakfast, seeing Harry, Dean and the twins sitting around the table with healer reference books in front of them. Harry sounded anxious, "How is she? How are they?"

He yawned again, he'd gotten a little sleep at least, but still really needed to crash somewhere. "They're a lot better after some sleep. Bill seems to be able to just grit his teeth through it for the most part, he's not thrashing about or sobbing anymore."

Another yawn, he needed to eat and then take them some food, so he started filling his plate from the stove finding a mix of breakfast and lunch. Still feeling Harry's eyes on him, "Give them space today, they're trying an accelerated healing technique on the latch: proactively pushing the magic back and forth. Bill's worried about the full moon. Any luck on the double latch research front?"

Fred shook his head, "Nothing useful, it seems to vary wildly case by case. Some never fully get untied, one ended in a murder-suicide and some just seem to resolve themselves."

George nodded, "There's even a case of twins purposefully being hurt by their clan to create a double latch in order to be able to harness each other's magic in battle during the fifth goblin war. It was apparently very effective."

Harry agreed, "All I've found is it's disastrous for Veelas and that Gringotts experimented with it to make humans work with goblins for really important jobs."

"Excellent." Charlie said sarcastically, "We knew it didn't work well with Fleur, we'll just have to wait and see. Harry, Bill wants you to make a tray for me to take to Hermione and him. She wants hot chocolate."

Dean's voice was tentative as Harry grumbled and got up, "Does Bill…well I mean, he's been taking Wolfsbane, right?"

Charlie let George handle that one and just kept eating, "Bill's not a werewolf, he wasn't bitten. He'll be restless tomorrow, probably rather tetchy, just do whatever he says and it'll be fine. Charlie did you see the message from Perce about how he's not a prat anymore?"

Charlie grinned at his brothers, feeling a lightness he hadn't felt in a long time. "Yeah, about damn time he polished his glasses and saw what was going on. Any news on what happened to Wood?"

Fred frowned, "He's still in custody and a little hurt. We think he stunned himself into a wall so hard he got a concussion and broke his jaw to try and make it look authentic. They held him back after the others 'for medical help' and crucioed him, suspecting he was involved because he hadn't been protesting he was kidnapped to the first guard. Percy's blaming himself for the slip up, because he was Wood at the time. Alicia said he's damn lucky his teammates notified his uncle. His uncle's high enough up in the Ministry he put a stop to it and prevented them from sending him to Azkaban without proof. Kingsley's helping handle the investigation, so it should turn out ok. He should get released today or tomorrow, they'll just hold his wand until the trial."

Charlie winced. "Ouch, hope they fixed him up, but knowing Wood he'll just be thrilled he got Alicia out. He's probably sitting in his cell, grinning like a maniac and plucking at the guards. Did it make the news?"

Dean shook his head, "Nope, why would the Prophet advertise the fact muggleborns escaped the Ministry's clutches?"

Charlie nodded still shoveling food into his mouth, but George wasn't smiling. "Bad news is we lost the safehouse Alicia and Katie were at in France. Dad went to find out if Mr. Delacour is dead or just Imperioused. Don't tell Bill until we know which, he's always spoken fondly of him."

"Damn. Mr. Delacour is a real nice chap, hope it's just the second. Anyone send word to Fleur?" Shovel, shovel, shovel, he hadn't really eaten since lunch the day before.

"Mum did." The corner of George's mouth turned up at this in amusement.

"Bloody hell, who let her write the message? She better have been nice." Charlie sighed.

"Ginny said she thought Fleur would appreciate the bluntness of the communication." Fred also had a half smile.

"Fleur really will hex Mum one day if she keeps up this nonsense. Then Bill will be stuck in the middle all over again." Charlie took the last bites off his plate, he really did like Fleur and while it hadn't worked out with Bill for various reasons, she was one prize of a woman.

"I'd like to see that." George went full grin.

"Charlie, your tray is ready." Harry informed him.

Charlie stood to grab it and shoved his plate at Harry, 'Thanks a lot. Mind washing this for me?"

Then he headed back up the stairs and knocked at the door. It swung open in response and he entered, kicking aside the bedding he'd crashed on. They were curled up in an even bigger nest of pillows and blankets than when he went down causing Charlie to wonder where Bill kept getting more pillows from. "Here's some food. Harry made you hot chocolate, Hermione."

She gave him a small smile, "Tell him thank you."

He set the food down and Bill frowned, "Charlie, will you ask one of the twins if we can vary from the potions list from Muriel? Or if there's anything topical we can put on her hip? She's in rather a lot of pain if she even shifts."

Charlie shrugged a yes, "Want me to take a look at it? I've had a few joints relocated and we don't always have a healer on the reserve, we just do it ourselves."

Bill seemed to speculate for a moment, before starting to unwind her from the many blankets he'd felt necessary, "Throw a warming charm on the food."

Charlie did as he was told and waited until he could see the hip in question, Hermione shifting her clothes to expose to swollen and bruised joint. Charlie could feel Bill's eyes burning into him so he didn't try and touch her. "It's definitely swollen and bruised, let's alternate cold and hot compresses. If it's just the hip, Fred can give you a localized numbing shot. Hermione are you feeling feverish? Muriel was worried some of the wounds might have been infected because of how deep they were."

Bill touched her forehead and nodded, as she shook her head no. "Ok, I'll pop over to Muriel's, but please use less blankets, you might just be overheating her."

"I can't, she keeps getting cold. I don't want her cold." Bill said, already starting to tuck her back away and Hermione gave Charlie a grimace that said, well ok then.

"Need anything else from Muriel's? Want to send any word to Percy?" Charlie asked, trying for cheerful.

"Tell him I'm glad he's back." Bill said, then his face shifted and his jaw clenched as he buried his face in Hermione's hair. His next words more angry. "Or just punch him for being a prat for so long."

"Bad loop number one." Hermione said by way of explanation, writing down the time and turning her focus to him.

Dismissed, Charlie left. He needed to go to Muriel's anyway to yell at his fool of a sister and talk some sense into his best mate.

* * *

The pensive and memory vials came the next morning and Hermione was determined to watch them, to understand what had really happened, both for herself and Bill. Harry was with them and they'd already run a smattering of his memories, he was there to help explain and verify what was happening in each one and Hermione was so glad to get to spend time with him. She dug her toes into the sand and stretched. Harry asked. "So, who's next?"

"Fred. Looks like our fourth year from the date on the vial. He tagged it Runeing out of Breakfast." She smiled as she poured it in, wondering if she would get to witness one of his attempts to ask her to the ball. She twisted up to Bill for a quick peck, knowing with the full moon tonight and how he'd warned her he was feeling possessive this might not be the most comfortable for him.

Harry looked away from them, slightly uncomfortable. "Let's drop in, shall we?"

Bill settled his arms back around her waist and they fell.

…

It was the Great Hall at breakfast sometime during fourth year and she sounded slightly awkward as she asked for Bill's address. Ron dropping into a seat across from her, suspicious, "Why do you need it?"

She saw herself blush and stammer out, "I wanted to ask him for recommendation on my Ancient Runes project. We have to pick a location to translate."

"What the fact that I've been to pyramids too, slipped your mind?" Ron said snippily. "Just go to the library like usual."

Fred popped him in the back of the head, "It's too early to start being a prat, Ron. Just start eating and shut it."

George leaned over and mock whispered, "Or you could just ask Fred, he's in Runes. Just don't tell anyone."

Surprise widened her eyes and she felt the slight hurt through the memory that Fred covered by bravado and mock hurt, "What of it, Granger? I'm a man of many talents and very wounded that you do not have my entire class schedule memorized by heart."

She rolled her eyes, before apologizing. "Sorry, Fred. I just thought you had to have an OWL to still take it in your year."

George grinned, "Well, normally you do, but I believe Fred very bluntly told the Professor he wasn't going to aim for one due to his other commitments, me naturally, and was still going to show up for the class anyway the next year. He actually even does homework for Runes, so ask him."

Fred was sweating slightly, wondering if this was enough to make her consider going to the Yule ball with him and maybe it was a good time to ask. No, not at breakfast, that would be so embarrassing if she said no. "Bill gave me some suggestions when I did that project, but maybe he'll give you different ones if none of mine catch your fancy."

She smiled at him and his stomach gave a little flutter in response, "Thanks, Fred! Just grab me in the common room whenever it suits your fancy."

Ron rolled his eyes, "Really, Hermione? That desperate for a date to the ball you're asking him to snog you in the common room?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it, Ronald." She looked agitated and hurt in the memory and grabbed her bag, a piece of toast and got up from the table, abandoning her plate. "I'll be in the library," pausing to glare, "like usual."

Fred got up to follow her, grabbing the egg sandwich George had just made himself and his own bag. She'd paused in the hallway looking moodily towards the library as if deciding to go. "Hermione, I've got time now if you'd like."

"Oh, perfect, not the library. Krum's breakfast crowd will be there disrupting it." She turned and he smiled, waving his sandwich at her.

"Bill sent a little about the pyramids, but he'd also just transferred from Rome where he'd been working on the Etruscan catacombs. So I did my project on there so I could learn some Italian to woo the ladies."

Foot in mouth and she didn't even seem to notice that he was currently trying to woo her, already turning at someone else calling her name and Ron came into view. "Hermione, wait! I'm sorry, ok?"

She paused and waited as Ron rubbed the back of his head, "I didn't mean to snap at you, I just had to stay up after Astronomy last night to try and finish the potions essay for today. Just not a lot of sleep, you know?"

She softened, but still frowned, "It's ok, but, did you finish it?"

Ron shook his head and made puppy dog eyes at her. "Harry and I were so tired we started writing on each other's parchment by accident and didn't realize, so we've got to copy it out again. Come back to breakfast to help us?"

Fred was not surprised that she'd completely forgotten him in what was either a an apology or a ploy for her to check their homework and just fell back into step with them, her tone scolding, "Honestly Ron, this would stop happening if you two just used the study schedules I made you." Absently, "Fred, would you like me to make you one?" Then she smiled at Fred a little teasingly, "To make up for not memorizing your class schedule before today?"

"Wouldn't dream of putting more work on your shoulders, Granger. Here, let me take some of it off." He grinned back at her, taking her bag from her. Hoping maybe later she'd come ask more about her project, until then he was going to study up on the book Percy had given them on how to woo witches because George was still chickening out with Angelina too.

* * *

Another memory, oddly enough one that would end up being one her favorites was poured in despite the subject matter and the fact the man himself was still sitting in a Ministry holding cell. He must have given it right after the Order meeting.

Oliver Wood was manhandling the twins towards her, Ron, Harry and Ginny at a library table. "You've got to pass to play. Do the bloody essay."

"You," She looked so young and apparently Oliver felt the same, "Little one, you keep Harry in line? You've got the books for the essay, right?"

She nodded, rather confused, making hushing motions at him, but it was Ron who looked offended. "Oi, she's got a name!"

"Mind making these two do it as well?" Oliver asked, he needed to rehash how practice had gone.

"She's still got a name." Ron defending her again.

How Oliver had gotten even more annoyed as he was trying to push the twins towards her, he knew her name, but also knew he was going to mispronounce it. He'd tried anyway and completely butchered it. Fred turning to giggle into his ear, "Hermione, it's not that hard."

"You didn't take a bludger to the face at practice, you fool." He ground back, because under his Scottish accent he was also swallowing his own blood.

"What are you even trying to say? Her name?" Ron asked in affronted confusion.

He tried again and destroyed her name even worse by trying to enunciate it, glad to see Harry was mouthing her last name at him and George was whispering "Granger," at him. Embarrassed, all he could think was why the bloody hell anybody's mother had been enough of a fool to do that to a little girl.

Hermione had looked down and blushed, "Ron, my name can be hard for people to say, ok? It's fine, I'm used to it. I'll watch them."

"We're doing the werewolf essay, though." Ron said, before glaring at his giggling brothers being forced into chairs.

"Everyone got the same assignment from Snape. Mind if I bring the rest of the team, little one? He's trying to use it against us to make us play reserves and I can't find Perce to keep them in line." He swallowed more blood and shoved George back down in his chair and her face lit up as something clicked and slid into place. It was the moment she'd figured out Professor Lupin's status and the point of the essay. While in the memory, he was thinking Percy had to get his priorities off of Penelope and back to winning the house cup.

"Oi, she still has a name and she's not your homework house elf! Stop just calling her little." Ron shot back.

"Fine. Miss Granger, for your love of Gryffindor quidditch do you mind sharing your books with the team tonight? We've got practice every night this week." His tone was eerily similar to McGonagall's and the one Charlie had used on him. Godric, was a tooth loose in there?

She nodded in response over Ron grumbling how ridiculous it was, "Of course, Oli.." She blushed and glanced at the tiny scary Weasley girl, "Mr. Wood. Don't you need to do it too?"

"Done, grew up during a slew of werewolf attacks on our town. I don't need the books to tell me the signs -" Butcher, butcher, butcher across every syllable as he tried again to show he really did know her name in thanks. Damn his blood filled, rapidly swelling Gaelic mouth. He flushed apologetically, "Miss Granger, or can I just call you little one?"

"You're not a teacher. The second one is sweet, erm, um, I mean fine." She'd shared another look with the little murderous Weasley girl again that he was all too familiar with and they both giggled as he stormed away to find his chasers. He needed to drag them to the table before he could go to the hospital wing.

Ron's voice floating back to him, "Right git he's being ordering you about and just…what the bloody hell was he saying? It wasn't even close to Hermione."

"He tried and he was hit by a bludger. You've misspelled werewolf, Ron." The little chicken-blood-everywhere Weasley's voice, defending him. He made a mental note to learn her name, he was sure it was in one of Charlie's letters and it was completely unreasonable to be uncomfortable around such a little chit. She'd been possessed, right?

Scratching of a quill, "Think he'd let me give it a go with the reserve team practice, though? We'll need a new keeper next year since he'll be gone."

"Oh, if he will, I'll go too. We trade off at home, remember?" Still the tiny miss-chamber-of-secret's voice as he searched the library. He knew the girls were here somewhere as he'd ordered everyone to the library directly after practice since none of them had done the damn essay out of pure Snape hatred.

"You're too little to be a good keeper, Ginny." Ron said, defensively. Oh that was her name, it explained why so many of Charlie's set plays had Gin in them. When had they used the 'Hail Ginny' where he stopped keeping and went in as a fourth chaser? He needed to check the scores of back games to see. He'd run the chasers through 'Gin-Gin-Drop' at tomorrow's practice, sometimes it was best to have one sweep below. Where the bloody hell were the girls?

"Size won't stop wee Ginny and 'little one' here from doing anything they please. Go to the practice, Gin." Fred, he thought, causing an abrupt silence then little giggles from the girls and Wood found himself seeing a rather angry looking Madame Pince striding towards the table to try and quiet the twins.

He threw himself into her path, cutting her off and forcing the words out. "Hospital wing. Bludger to the face."

She paused in concern and he opened his bloody mouth in response and saw her recoil, before grabbing him and beginning to march him away. Yelling over his shoulder to the entire library, heedless of the blood he was spewing. "Girls, go do the bloody essay with the twins, Potter and little one." He swallowed more blood and ignored the glare from the librarian marching him out, "Near Transfiguration books."

The twins yelling one at a time, "Wrong, big one."

"-We're in the Defense Against Dark Arts section."

"-Kidding, we're by Charms."

A shrill little voice that carried equally as well to him as he spied the girls getting up from their table. "Stop yelling you two! Ron make them stop it."

"Shut up, you gits. We're in a library!" Ron's even louder voice carrying.

* * *

They popped out of the pensive and she leaned slightly into Bill, she was giggling and seeing Harry smiling in turn. "Well that settles that, we just thought he didn't know my name and was using the bludger thing as an excuse."

Harry shook his head still grinning, "Turns out he did. I think he fancied himself dashing after he realized all of the girls giggled when he called you 'little one'. So he made up nicknames for every single female player from other houses and shamelessly flirted to throw them off their game. He and Alicia had a huge fight over it at practice."

Bill sighed in resignation, "Charlie created a monster, didn't he?"

"But who created Charlie?" Hermione asked and there was silence for awhile.

"McGonagall's really into quidditch, she handled most of Wood's recruiting and I think helped negotiate his contract with Puddlemere." Harry offered and they all just nodded, their head of house's passion was well known.

"Don't tell Ginny he was scared of her. It still upsets her that not everyone believes she was possessed and people avoided her out of fear that she'd set the monster on them." Hermione said worriedly, making eye contact with both of them.

"I didn't know that was happening." Harry said concerned, he was used to being avoided and knew how awful it was. He was also wondering just how well he really knew Ginny, she hadn't mention that when they were dating. Then again, it's not like he'd mentioned all of the times the school hated him, either.

"Well, she was avoiding you out of embarrassment. You'd saved her life. I think she wrote to-" She cut herself off at the look in Harry's eyes, floundered and said. "Well, it made her cry a lot her second year. Now, who's next?"

* * *

A/N: Share your thoughts in the reviews! Also, if you're reading 'The Day We Broke Mum' Charlie's version is up!


	14. Can't Fight the Moonlight

A/N: I absolutely adore the reviews, they definitely fuel the writing. If you read this, you might need to reread it, it got bobbled with another M story (ff has been a pain today), my biggest apologies! Two quick things: There is some T in this chapter, feel free to skip it, and you should probably know in my head Bill is more of a Sam Heughan (Outlander) looker- never heard of him. You're welcome. So this is a long chapter, but I wanted to do the whole full moon in one go.

Narrators today: Harry, Tonks, Charlie, Ginny, George

* * *

 **Can't Fight the Moonlight**

Harry was watching her watch Bill swim off his anger from where they were sitting with their feet in the water. She was the first to break the comfortable silence, "Bill's not completely wrong, is he?"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, still holding the wand at the ready at Bill's orders, so Bill wouldn't pause in his swimming again to yell at Harry to get the wand back up.

Her words were rather sad, "I mean from the outside looking in, Ron wasn't particularly nice to me in a lot of those memories and don't think I don't know you lot are sugar coating it with the best memories you've got. It seems very…hot and cold."

Harry struggled for words, how to reconcile the real Ron with what was locked in her mind and everyone else's interpretations. For Harry, Ron was the best thing to ever happen to him and at one point they'd been the best thing to happen to Hermione. "You know Ron's not confident and extremely aware of it. He had five successful brothers to live up to, plus Ginny, then fell in with us. You're brilliant and I've got a fame I never wanted. It just…sort of makes him lash out sometimes when he feels…." He floundered not wanting to say it, 'inadequate.' Harry paused for a moment, it hung heavy between them that Harry would have traded all of the fame in the world for his parents, to have grown up knowing love. "Besides, he was used to saying whatever he wanted to his siblings, because they'd always love him anyway. It's as if not the twins or Ginny walk around on eggshells holding their tongues to not offend anyone. Ginny sometimes just says whatever's popped into his head even if it is a little harsh."

"With Ginny it may sometimes be harsh, but it's usually true and usually not over trivial things like eating a second cookie." Hermione replied in defense of her friend.

Harry nodded, before defending Ron. "It's not like you weren't sharp with Ron, you were a definite participant in your constant bickering. There were times when I thought it was going to drive me mad then it would hit a breaking point and the two of you wouldn't talk for days."

She nodded slowly, watching as Bill swam towards them versus the laps he'd been running parallel to the shore. "Harry, isn't that sort of awful too? I mean it seemed to be something limited to us three. You have no idea how much I would have loved if Parvati and Lavender would go a month without speaking to each other versus just cry and makeup. There would have been actual silence in our room. Put the wand back at ready. He's getting antsy, I'll be right back."

Harry watched as she shifted in vain then didn't rise, she gave an apologetic smile, "I don't think I can get myself up to go meet him, not with my hip and arm still so sore."

Harry started to offer he'd help her up, but she shook her head. "Best not to, he's warned me that he's feeling extremely possessive because of the moon and apologized in advance. You'll see the rules he posted."

"Great, tonight should be fun. Just like having him threaten to hex me across the room when I was just bringing you both breakfast was a real treat." Harry said and she gave him a sympathetic smile before Bill reached them, his hands automatically going to her face to stroke it in reassurance.

"I'm here and safe." She reached up to touch his soaking wet face and pull him down for a kiss, before turning and whispering things Harry couldn't hear. Harry looked back out to sea, still finding it uncomfortable to see her so open and adoring with Bill. She'd been shyly sweet with Krum, nerdy with Terry and mainly exasperated with McLaggen. She'd skirted around Bill and Ron over summer, but he'd never seen this complete baring of her romantic feelings. Harry had held her as she cried, seen her angry and determined, but this was different: he'd never seen her just glow with happiness. It was like seeing his Ginny, getting way too intense on the back of a dragon, while everyone screamed at them to stop it and unable to make them because of, well, dragons.

Eventually, they stopped and Bill drew the wand from Hermione's hair, "Harry, scoot a bit farther away."

Harry did as he was told, wondering if Bill might be about to hex him for not being as ready to protect Hermione as Bill would like. Bill didn't, instead he just walked in a circle around her making complicated wand movements that glowed runes and spells. "Erm, no offense, but what is he doing?"

Hermione was watching Bill in complete fascination, but answered him. "He's basically building me a little pyramid of protection, then he'll break me out of when he's done swimming."

"What and I don't get to be in the pyramid too?" Harry asked, slightly affronted and slightly amused by just how ridiculous Bill was being for her to be just a little ways away on his doubly hidden, completely warded beach with two wands.

"Nope, girls only." Hermione joked, then asked Bill. "Are those the same runes on the girls dorms to keep boys out?"

"Slightly different combination. This will make a siren noise for me still, but also burn whoever tries to enter." Bill said, completely serious.

Harry chose to scoot a bit farther away from the barrier, not liking the sound of it or Bill's edgy tone. "Now, I won't be much longer, love. Just need to get rid of some of this energy. Take your potion and eat a biscuit."

Harry watched him drop another kiss and run back out into the water, pausing to grin over his shoulder and wink at her before taking a dive. "So, that's not going overboard at all."

Hermione's laugh was slightly raspy again, "He can't help it at the moment. You've got to understand that his first magical latch to Fleur was a complete disaster and ours, while not perfect since I'm still latched too, is going swimmingly in comparison."

"Well, last time wasn't it because he'd been violently mauled and her being part Veela?" Harry asked, before realizing what he'd just implied and wanted to shove his foot in his mouth and choke on his shoelaces. "Sorry, I didn't mean that…I was just trying to say-"

"I know, Harry." Relief washed over him at how Hermione just got him, he knew he wasn't the best with words. She picked up some sand and started to let it drift through her fingers, "Last time though it was him hurt. This time it's me: what was done to me when I was helpless and couldn't protect myself. I'm sure someone explained it, how for Bill it's so much more than just feeling the torture."

"Charlie tried to hash it out for us." Harry said quietly, he hadn't really gotten to see her until today because they'd just been completely alone with Charlie or Fred checking on them.

Harry shuddered at the thought of having to have that run at the back of your mind. Again, because all of the things Bill would just randomly start narrating were real things that had happened to her. A third, he felt so guilty at saying the Taboo name, at not getting them out of the dungeon quicker because he couldn't think with Ron screaming and half sobbing. She picked up more sand, a shudder going down her own spine, "That's why he almost threw you across the room at breakfast, he was on one the Greyback parts, like now, and just…well it's really bad there for him. He was doing so much better yesterday, but his senses are too heightened right now."

Then after she'd gone through another handful of sand, he tried to lighten things, "So you and Bill, huh?"

"Yes," she smiled, "Isn't it wonderful? We'd always gotten along and I.."

"Had a giant crush where Bill was the epitome of what men should be like compared to us lowly Hogwarts boys? I remember 4th through 6th year, the books, the letters full of homework help. Hermione, I'm the one who comforted you after he got engaged, remember?" Harry said and almost laughed because she really did look so happy.

She nodded and blushed, "In Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. I'm still so embarrassed that I cried over it, it was so foolish of me."

Harry smiled, "Hermione, you're many things, but a fool isn't one. Look at where you two are now, it just took a little while to get here. You two were nauseating over summer, you know that, right?"

She blushed and he went on, "Ron was going mad because you were always running off with Bill to practice dueling and how you two had to keep talking about it meals. You would drop a scrap of wanting to know something and Bill would beat Ron to it. Ron was furious when he went for the loo in the middle of the night and stepped in spilled ink, only to find both of you asleep on the hallway landing. He and Bill had a huge row about it in our room the next morning, Ron tried to hex him."

"Well, Bill was tasked with trying to keep us from planning and instead opted to help me prepare by teaching me things, letting me borrow all of his books and what not. One of which could only be read by moonlight, but we'd forgotten to read it when we walked in the orchard." She said primly, before sobering. "And Ron…well like you said, he's never handled things in stride. From what I think I correctly remember and am seeing now, he seems to always leave when you need him most. For you, remember the Triwizard tournament? How barely anyone would speak to you and he was just so bent out of shape he wouldn't either. While you say he dated Lavender to make me jealous and I remember being friends with him despite of it, I can also remember how completely hellish it was. I was so frustrated by her that I started sleeping in the library under your cloak."

"Well… it was really hard for him, the tournament I mean." Harry knew it sounded lame, but he'd forgiven Ron over it and just been so happy to have him back.

"When we needed him, when I needed him, he left. He can't help it, it's just part of him. I can accept that now because I also know he'll always come to his senses and come back eventually." She sounded so sad, like she was going to cry herself to sleep for so many nights again. Then looking at Bill's strong strokes she seemed to soothe, "We'll be best friends again, but I don't think it will be the same. Watching my life play out helps, but what happened at the Manor is still burned in my brain. Dropping it in a pensive for a peek doesn't take it away." She gave a sad sigh, "I've got Bill and he'd never leave me like that."

Harry felt his heart twist for Ron and almost pointed out that it might be because they could be magically bound forever or that Bill already had a broken engagement and had left a slew of broken hearts across multiple continents so he was perfectly capable of leaving women. Harry found he couldn't do it, Hermione deserved to be happy with someone she wouldn't bicker with constantly and if it was Bill, maybe he needed to just get used to it. He really did like Bill at the end of day, his biggest sin was not being Ron. "I'm glad and since he adores you and builds you little pyramids, can you please ask him to stop ordering me around like his bloody servant? I had enough of that at Number 4 Privet Drive."

She reached as if to pat his hand, then realized she was trapped. "I'll ask, but he's only asking you to do things specifically for me. He thought you would appreciate being able to help me heal when it's so hard for us to be around people. Anything else he does himself."

Harry hadn't thought about it that way before and looking back on the past few days it was always preceded with 'Hermione needs, wants, would like..' He gave a concession. "I hadn't quite caught on to his unique methods of being considerate of my worry. I'll keep doing whatever he wants. Well, within reason, he's currently going a little spare."

She laughed at the assessment and Harry grinned at her. "Imagine if you were the only person Mrs. Weasley cared for and were sick." Harry involuntarily grimaced and she nodded, "Exactly. It's a little overwhelming at times when you're being smothered in unnecessary blankets and force fed potions, but also great because it's coming from such a loving place. I'll be really glad when it's not a giant ordeal for me to have a moment in the loo, though. First we had to hold hands through the door, now he just stands outside waiting for me to be done."

Harry laughed, "You did climb into his shower."

"Completely your fault." She shot back. "That was so strange, one minute I'm feeling anxious over if Ginny's head would be ok. Then everything just went odd and I was happy, but started to freak out because everyone was too close. Because of the latch I just absolutely needed Bill, but was too dazed to tug on it."

Harry blushed at how clueless and helpless he'd felt in Bill's bathroom, Luna had held it better together than him. "How do you think tonight will go? I heard Charlie say something about a stinging hand hex from Muriel's day if he couldn't control his hormones." Sudden brotherly concern hit him, "He's not been…getting fresh with you? Has he?"

Hermione shook her head in the negative, "No, he's very much a gentleman. He's always the first to pull away when we kiss, because he wants to 'court me properly, despite the circumstances'. To tell the truth, it's rather maddening how he keeps under control while I'm-" She flushed scarlet and looked at her lap, before back out to sea.

Which told Harry that she did indeed want something else, he raised an eyebrow and she was too busy staring at Bill's shoulders slicing the water to notice. When she did she blushed again, "What, like you never had thoughts about Cho or Ginny? We know Ron would go incoherent at the sight of Fleur to where it was just embarrassing for everyone. Plus, I know far too much about what he and Lav-Lav got up to because she wanted to rehash every detail with everyone in the room. I had to constantly pop the daydream charms when it was my turn. Then I gave her a bunch of ridiculous, horrid names when she was planning their babies."

Harry felt his heart drop at the mention of Ginny, it dropped so low he didn't even roll his eyes at Lav-Lav. Ginny was there at Muriel's, with that…that dragon tamer who'd kissed her like she was the only thing in the world. She was probably with him right now playing with the dragons, if you could even do such a thing. "Have you heard from Ginny? Has she said anything about…about what happened?"

Hermione debated for a moment, still distracted by something as she bit her lip, before deciding. "Remember how I talked about Cho having all of those conflicting emotions around you and Cedric? I think Ginny's there."

Hermione took a deep breath and said, "She's coming tonight with Fred, so she can keep me company while Bill does his routine. Maybe you two can talk about it?"

Harry's heart had dropped at what she said, he really hadn't been great to Ginny before they dated. He hadn't been terrible, just awkwardly dismissive of her feelings because he had feelings for someone else and they'd been friends, just not super close ones because there were so many off limit topics between them. He pushed it aside, "I bet you end up shoved in another little pyramid with Bill tonight."

She was still staring at Bill, "We have to surrender our wand when the sun goes down in case Bill completely loses it again when Greyback hits the loop. Or, I suppose, if I have a breakdown."

Harry violently started at her usage of 'our wand', because in all of the months he'd used Hermione's wand it had never been theirs, because wands were so personal to their owner. He wondered how much was due to the latch, only to realize he'd spoken aloud.

"Oh, Bill's wand has the same core as mine, so Mr. Ollivander said it makes sense for it to respond to me as if it were mine, especially given the circumstances and the fact Bill's gone through so many wands. I think this is his fourth. Ron had one of them, remember? Once we're unlatched Mr. Ollivander will help me pick my own, he wants to wait until the magic is separate again." Then her breath abruptly hitched seeing Bill come up out of the water so he could walk towards them, "Oh look, he's done!"

And Harry wondered if it was Bill's hormones they were going to have to worry about as she seemed completely entranced by him dripping wet striding towards her in his swim trunks. Bill's scars certainly didn't seem to bother her, that was for sure. Harry excused himself, completely unnoticed, as she was broken out of her pyramid. When he glanced back at Hermione's laugh, Bill was dry and dressed, kneeling beside her and leaning in for more than a laugh. When he got into the house he saw Charlie and George at the table and said the only thing he could, "Use Muriel's hexes on Bill and I think we might to have to chaperone them. Hermione said they don't do anything, but she has the same look as when Ron was doused by a love potion. Bill's no better."

Charlie cursed in Romanian, "They're going to be worse to control than dragons."

At Harry's questioning look, George pointed. "We're not allowed to hex her hands, even touch her or he'll completely flip because of the latch and the moon. He said if he tries to kill anyone or they go to breakdown city just to stun him, but nothing to her. The only thing allowed is the little safety charms he built for her, firewhiskey and calming draughts. He wrote out the rules and charms and posted them in every room like he's still Head Boy."

Harry glanced over to where there was in fact an instructional poster with diagrams, then tentatively said, "Has Bill ever tried to kill anyone?"

The silence stretched out long enough to make Harry truly uncomfortable. George's words were careful, "Depends on if you think the Malfoys count as people. Bill took it as an extreme familial insult and a personal one, that he'd been the cursebreaker escorting them to their vault when Mr. Malfoy got Ginny's diary out."

George tried again, seeing Harry look astounded and glance warily back at the door. "He's never done anything like that due to the full moon, but there's never been a girl in the mix that wasn't family. Fleur was already out of the picture by the first one. We came to Shell for it once Hermione came for summer, because he was still figuring out how it would go as he healed."

"Well, maybe that's not the only reason." Charlie said and put his head into his hands knowing he was in charge and was likely going to mess this up at one point during the night, "Just stun him if needed, if you need help on how reference his damn poster."

* * *

"Tonks would you like another cup of tea?" Molly Weasley asked, noticing her cup was empty.

"Oh, I can make it, Molly. You're a guest." Tonks protested, stopping her soft strokes against Remus' fur, despite the fact he was Moony at the moment. He was hers, head resting on her lap where he could hear the baby's heartbeat and feel the little kicks and that was what mattered. She thought it was adorable when he would nuzzle her belly at the little kicks and make a little noise at the back of his throat.

"Nonsense, you're too far along. You should be resting." Molly replied and headed for the kitchen. Tonks internally sighed and adjusted the blanket she'd tucked around Moony in her nesting instincts. She knew Molly was just uncomfortable with seeing Remus like this, almost everyone was, he wouldn't even let her watch him transform. Molly had been raised to fear werewolves and as much as she liked the man it was certainly disconcerting to look at him like this and reconcile it to Remus' usually gentle demeanor. Still, she'd offered to come over tonight in case the baby came, despite everything going on in her own family. She'd been a shoulder to cry on when Remus was pushing her away and practically hassled him into finally giving in after they'd gone on a mission together.

"Thank you, Molly. I do appreciate you spending the night with us. We normally just watch silly movies until he falls asleep. How's Ron doing? Any better?" She called, sincerely meaning it and wondered just how badly the Weasley matriarch was going to scold her over sneaking Ginny out of the country. She'd been surprised she'd offered to come over and not sent a Howler.

There was a soft, sad sigh. "He's still struggling with it, but I think he's coming to grips with understanding things might not be able go back to how they were. He's blaming himself for everything, especially for not stopping Harry from breaking the Taboo. We haven't told him about Bill and Hermione yet." She reentered with a fresh pot of lemon tea and poured it, "Bill said he wanted to talk to Ron himself, he's fairly certain he deserves to be hexed, but wants to wait and talk it over with Hermione once she's seen all of the memories. Charlie says Bill's nervous she'll leave him and no matter what Ron will be upset with Bill."

"She won't, but I'm glad Bill's offering to include her in the discussion." Tonks said thinking, "She'd be furious with him if he didn't."

"I think you're right, I told Charlie to tell Bill he needs to court her properly, none of the nonsense he was up to with Fleur. Hermione is a sweet girl, not a French -" She cut herself off and sighed, "I know with the latch there's a certain amount of closeness and he's cared for her so long, but I'm rather afraid Bill will cross a line that he can't uncross both with her and Ron." Molly worried.

Tonks went on, not wanting to point out Bill had certainly crossed that line before under a lot less duress than being in love, "As much it hurts Ron and he might always wonder, he'll be fine. He knows Bill will treat her right and Ron and Hermione have never even kissed, so it'll be easier." Tonks turned her hair pink in excitement, "Did you know I had a crush, along with the rest of Hogwarts girls, on Bill before Charlie got his head out of his ass and we dated? He was popular and cool, but so nice to everyone, I swear as Head Boy he knew everyone's names."

Molly didn't even frown at her language, having grown used it over time, just smiled happily at her. "He did, he made notecards for it, thought it was really important, especially for the first years.…" She glanced at Remus' sleeping wolf and lowered her voice, "Tonks, if it's not too personal, what happened with Charlie? Your mother and I thought the two of you…well we'd already started planning. I do worry about him."

Tonks sipped her tea, "Charlie started off by trying to impress me by being rather…boisterous. We only started dating after Bill gave him some book on how to woo witches and he got his act together and stopped just spouting his impressive quidditch stats at me."

Molly interrupted, her eyes misty, "It belonged to my brothers, I gave it to them as a joke for their 16th birthday. Bill must have found it in the attic. The boys don't think I know about it, but I smile each time I see all of their names written under the others if I stumble across it. It's all the way down to Ron now."

Tonks smiled, it certainly was a family tradition then. "See then he'll be just fine! That book is sheer magic. With Charlie…well we grew up and grew apart once we left Hogwarts. I wanted to be an Auror and he wanted to go play with dragons in Romania. It was young love, we fought over the stupidest things, you know how Charlie is quick to temper." Then realizing this was Charlie's very protective mother, hastily got more serious. "Dating him made me realize a lot about myself, where I needed to be better in a relationship and what I truly wanted. He helped guide me to Remus." Then she grinned, feeling slightly evil, she loved Charlie to bits, but also loved messing with him to see him get so mad his neck flamed. "Has he told you about his muggle girlfriend yet?"

Molly Weasley dropped her teacup in utter shock and Tonks was delighted, mission achieved. She swished her wand to clear the mess and repair the teacup as Molly fluttered her hands in excitement. "Charlie has a girlfriend? Ohhh, why didn't he tell me?! Why didn't Bill? I'm going to give them both a talking to. Tell me everything!"

Tonks giggled at Molly's girlish excitement for gossip, "Ralph only just told me about it, apparently he used to date a girl and Charlie started-" Don't say shagging, control the urge, Tonks, this is his mother, she internally scolded herself. She choked with the effort. "-seeing her flatmate. She's Romanian and they go to karaoke together."

Molly smiled and opened her mouth to ask more when Moony suddenly growled, causing Molly to jump backwards into her chair. He was off the couch and by the door and Tonks senses went haywire. "Molly, wand at the ready. He's never done this before."

Molly pulled hers, moving backwards into the room away from the growling werewolf and towards the bedroom entrance. "You think They'd attack on a full moon?"

"They're desperate with how it's been going." Tonks said, moving to shield herself behind the entryway to the kitchen, Remus fretted enough over her and the baby when he wasn't Moony. She couldn't imagine how he would be now.

The door flew open and Moony growling flew right at the first person, taking them down, already jumping at the next using his first prey as a springboard. A hex flew her way as she peeked out and she hesitated, what if she hit Remus?

She wouldn't have to throw a single hex, instead she would stand behind a pillar clutching her sharply clenching stomach. Baby, now this really isn't the time, she tried to scold the little sucker to no avail, Daddy will want to be there where he can hold you. She was completely ignored by her little inhabitant and water began to run down her legs in defiance.

Between Molly's sudden involvement from her better angle and her werewolf husband in an animalistic rage it would barely take a few minutes for them eliminate the five that had come. It would take only a split second for the rage to fade from Molly's eyes as she realized the situation and to switch into a mode to prepare for who was coming next. She started issuing orders at Tonks.

* * *

"Jeez, Bill, just change behind the curtain. Don't act like this is the first time you've had to share a bathroom with your siblings." Ginny said, following them into the bathroom, "You two are under chap-er-one, ooh another poster! Bill, these are great."

Ginny popped herself onto the counter beside where he'd set Hermione, ignoring her brother grumble at being teased and continued on as if Bill's urgent need to stop his push-ups and shower hadn't interrupted their conversation. "Like I was saying, it's just different and I'm so confused. There's no awkwardness when he reaches out to hold my hand and-"

"He's too old for you, Ginny." Bill's head popped up as he was hanging his clothes over the rail, then down, "Never mind, I'll tag myself out on that one."

"Bill, you may have long hair and an earring, but you're not a girl, so you're not in this conversation. Want a silencing charm?" Ginny asked him archly.

His response was a yelp at the coldness of the water. Ginny just decided to ignore him, she was supposed to be being nice to Bill. She even had her own little section on the poster. "We kissed yesterday, but I'm still confused because we were dancing and rather tipsy and I know there's no girls at the Reserve. Then again after he convinced Mum he'd just hit me too hard with a cheering charm to up my spirits, because I was giggling like crazy when she caught us sneaking back in."

"Well, the kissing is a good sign, right?" Hermione asked eagerly, though Ginny could tell her heart twisted for Harry. Hers did too, she just was so unsure who she was now.

"He's so good at it my toes curl, but Ralph just left me at my bedroom door once he'd walked me back." Ginny frowned at having to say it, he'd started to kiss her against the door, before abruptly pulling away and heading off for his tent with a soft 'Goodnight, sweetheart'.

"Good." Shower man intoned.

"Shove off, Bill. I'm so confused, Hermione. With Harry it was different, he kept still getting nervous around me when we were alone. Ralph doesn't do that, and well, I've shared a lot more real things with him than I have Harry over the years. I could barely talk around Harry for so long, but I've always been able to talk to Ralph. If that makes sense?" Ginny said contemplatively and a noise of protest came from behind the shower curtain.

"Harry's still just a kid, Ralph isn't. Dating Ralph will be like dating Charlie, which will be like dating yourself, Ginny. You're too alike." Bill cut in, ignoring her orders that he wasn't allowed in the conversation.

"And this is why I never asked dating advice from my brothers. If Harry is a kid, then so is the girl you're snogging. There aren't any kids left in this war, Bill." She turned back to Hermione, shaking her head while still blazing over her brother, forgetting she was supposed to be nice to Bill. "You're the guy who mailed me a present to give to Hermione because you tripped on her sleeping in the library at Hogwarts while on duty, and it was 'just something you thought she'd like, because you two were so similar' or some bollocks like that. Then told me not to tell anyone you'd sent it because of Fleur's crazy jealous side. I have no idea how you put up with Phlegm for so long."

"You just told people, Ginny, and I was just being nice then, I think." Bill replied and went back to splashing, before he stood back up, peering at them. "Actually, love, I kept getting distracted as I escorted you back to your dorm. You were in pajamas, just a tank top and-"

"Stop being gross, Bill." Ginny cut him off, making a face.

"Is that why you gave me the any book memory bookmark saying you got it on accident, Ginny? I love that, I use it all the time!" Hermione was beaming up at him, then reached in to grab a hand and squeeze it in very belated thanks.

"Yes, Bill's always been a thoughtful bloke. Now back to me. It was just so easy when he kissed me to distract me from the pain while I was getting my tattoo, he'd said it was just going to sting a little. Liar." Ginny went on, determined to get Hermione's advice on the matter of two boys, one heart and a few very tumultuous days. Or at least to be able to talk to someone that wasn't Muriel about it, her advice was borderline either way.

"Tattoo?! You got a tattoo?!" Hermione was completely astounded, "When? Where?"

"What?" Bill asked, popping up again to eye the girls just as Charlie opened the door holding a gillywater.

"Another shower already? Just go for a swim, Bill. What are we yelling about?" Charlie asked.

Ginny felt her chin jut out in stubbornness, "I got a tattoo last night with Ralph and Duncan."

Charlie seemed non-plussed by the information, "Let's see it then." At Hermione's glare he shrugged, "Want me to yell for the twins?"

Ginny said yes, but he paused pulling out his wand. "Hermione, the wand buzzed, get ready for the first phase of the bad loop."

"Bill, shove your face out. Story or kiss?" Hermione said, reaching for the upper half of the shower curtain and he did as he was told his eyes looking rather hollow. He simply pulled her face towards his, so Ginny turned her back on them.

"I already saw Ralph's, he said yours has matching fire." Charlie leaned against the wall.

She nodded, "Is that weird for you? Well, any of it with your best mate and all?"

He shifted his shoulders, "A little, but is it any stranger than your best mate making out with your older brother while we're all in his bathroom? Just, please never try and undress him again before my eyes." He grimaced at her, "Muriel scolded me about it, she's determined to chaperone you two. I'm supposed to help teach you proper dancing for your introduction ball. As if any of the other pureblood families would even come for us blood traitors."

Ginny made a face back at him, then shrugged. "Doubt they'll keep having those balls, besides it doesn't matter anyway. She's going to Switzerland tomorrow with at least George, though she wants the pair. I helped her dig out a whole bunch of old letters and paperwork from her attic today."

"What? Why?" Charlie asked, confused and not particularly liking the thought of unleashing Muriel again. She was going to get herself killed.

"Since the French Ministry has fallen she's bound and determined to sway Switzerland to our side. Their Minister is related to her first husband or something and she's hoping showing him George's ear will be enough to sway them. She also was sorting stuff into a pile for blackmail though."

"Fred and George created a monster. How is Mum ok with this?" Charlie said, rubbing his face in exhaustion.

"No, they unleashed the awesome. Oh, Mum's not ok with it at all, she wanted to go and Muriel flat out told her no. It's great for Mum: she's been bossing everyone about for so long she's forgotten what it was like to be put in her place, which Muriel takes great pleasure in doing." She paused to grin at Charlie, making sure he was paying attention to her and not Bill and Hermione. "She says she's too old to care and I'm too young to have learned my lesson yet, so we can do as we please."

Charlie cursed under his breath, "Great, so we have an old lady who's senile unless she remembers her potion giving advice to reckless teenager. Ginny, about Ralph.."

Ginny's grin became nervous as she cut him off, "Do you know if for him it's just dragons and drinking…or more? You don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

Charlie chose his words carefully, checking on the couple she'd faced away from. "Do you think he would have taken you from school and driven halfway across England or endangered his job if he didn't care for you?" He paused thinking, "He came back after Easter and dumped his muggle girlfriend, which makes my life harder because I'm still seeing her flatmate on and off."

"He drove me? You have a muggle girlfriend?"

"Jeez, Ginny how hard did those bludgers hit you? He and his brother drove all night to get you to Muriel's while you slept, to not set off any underage magic tags. And no, she's just casual when I'm in town."

Ginny started to muse on this, when Charlie got unusually serious. "Ginny, do me a favor? Don't get involved with Ralph if you're still waiting around for Harry and don't get your feelings confused because both of them have gone after you when you were in danger. Everyone ends up hurt in love triangles."

She was about to ask Charlie something else when Hermione all but cooed, "That time wasn't so bad, was it? Now finish up your wash."

Charlie rolled his eyes, levity gone, and mouthed 'cold shower' at Ginny who giggled. "I expect he'll have to start all over after the way you were at him, Hermione."

"Shut up, Charlie." Bill's voice came from behind the curtain and the rhythmic sound of jumping jacks started, his arms flinging upwards.

Charlie opened the door and yelled, "Oi! Fred! George! Come here!"

Sounds of footsteps and Charlie moved further into the bathroom to make room for them, finding they were bounding in at a rather alarming rate. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, our sister has something to show us." Charlie paused, suddenly concerned by another option. "Ginny, you did get it in a decent place, right?"

"Oooh, one of her battle scars? We didn't get to fix all of them because Lucidity wanted to." George was grinning as Ginny slipped off the counter.

"Can't this wait until I'm out of the shower and can see too?" Bill asked, stopping his jumping and Fred grinned.

"No, because you like having shower groupies."

"Bill just pop your head up, you need a different shower if you have to hunch in it." Ginny said and rather than tell the twins decided to just shock them. So, she unbuttoned her cardigan and pulled off one arm, displaying the small tattoo of Angus on her shoulder breathing a touch of flame onto her spine.

The twins were making such a racket of oohs and aww and I can't believe you got a tattoo, that it took Hermione tapping her, "Turn so I can see!"

She turned and Bill gave her a whistle, "Nice work."

"How much-"

"-Did that cost?!" George finished.

Ginny shrugged, "I don't know, I didn't pay for it."

"Can I touch it?"

"No, it'll hurt." Charlie cut him off, "I think you had the same guy that did the mountain range across my shoulders, looks like his stuff."

"Wait, freckle face, are you saying you have another tattoo?"

"It's 1998, Fred, it's all the rage, just don't tell Mum. She flipped when Bill and I first got those runes."

"Yes, which you keep promising to take the rest of us brothers to get so we can all have matching ones." Fred was pouting.

"Percy's back now and we think he'll actually do it, he's so contrite. We can still make him cool!" George was utterly gleeful at the prospect.

The water cut off and Bill's voice came as he rustled with getting himself dressed, "Love, do you want a bath or a shower? Charlie can put a levitation charm on your leg."

Hermione looked at Ginny confused, she'd helped wash the finally healing cuts on her back earlier. "Bill, I'm fine."

His head popped out and he whispered something to her and she blushed in mortification, "Oh, erm, a shower will be fine then."

Ginny looked at the boys in confusion, Charlie tapped his nose. "Bill can smell just how dirty her mind is getting while we just have to watch her drool over him."

"Don't be bloody crass, Charlie. Set the charm and go show your tattoos off somewhere else. Here, let me help you get your sweater off that shoulder." Bill sounded aggravated as he picked her up off the counter after Charlie's wand flicked. He pulled her into the shower then a few moments later hissed, "Damn! It stings!"

"I can manage the buttons," she soothed, "Don't worry about my shoulder, it's just a little sore."

"Ginny, get in here and help her." Ginny obediently climbed into the shower with them and shut the curtain. Fred threw a sticking charm at it, giggling, "Bill's got two girls in the shower."

"Fred, that's your sister." George said and undid it as Fred realized just what had come out of his mouth.

"Sorry, Ginny. Sorry, Hermione. Sorry, Bill." Fred immediately apologized, just as mortified as Hermione had been, his ears pink. Why didn't his mouth have a filter?

"Everyone get out of the bloody bathroom." Bill said, stepping out into what little space there was and beginning to bodily shove his brothers out, "I'm serious. I'm not in the mood for your antics right now." Charlie and Fred particularly roughly, "Go make Hermione a make-up card, you prat. I won't have you talking about her like that. Fred apologized."

"I'll say I'm sorry, but not like I'm five, Bill." Ginny grinned at Hermione from where she'd gotten the sweater off. They both startled at the abrupt sound of impact followed by someone hitting the floor.

Charlie's voice cursing, before his rather thick sounding words came. "Bloody hell! Bill, you broke my nose."

Hermione gave another blush, before issuing an order. "Bill, come here! I'm fine. Charlie you're forgiven, but I do want to see whatever a make-up card is."

Stomps heading back into the bathroom. "Bill, do you want to hold my hand for a minute to calm down or can I finish getting undressed?"

"I want to hold all-" He abruptly cut himself off, "Hand. Ginny keep talking about something."

Ginny slipped out of the shower and saw that Bill really did need a distraction from the way he was looking at Hermione's come hither eyes as she shut the shower curtain with one of her hands in his, "When we were kids you could either apologize to their face or go to time out and create a make-up card if you did something bad. Thing is, Mum didn't always open them if she was busy with something else, so you could write whatever you wanted in them." Ginny smiled at Bill, "I'm awful at apologizing, so I always chose the cards."

Bill seemed to be able to focus more and gave her a thank you smile back, "I believe I have a very glittery frog card still at the Burrow that says inside 'I found your chocolate frogs, so I ate them.' Charlie got one about jelly slugs with the same thing because she'd found the extra candy from the trolley lady when we came home for summer. She'd been bouncing off the walls and we'd thought she was just excited to see us all home, then we found the evidence."

"And Hermione, then a sixteen year old boy tattled to his mother about how a little girl stole his candy. Really, Bill, that was mean. You all knew I never got candy." Ginny pouted at him.

"I didn't tell, Ginny." He squeezed Hermione's hand and let go so she could finish and fold, "Charlie did because he was mad, we'd gotten the candy to give you little ones as presents and you ruined it."

Hermione was passing her folded clothes to Bill, who took a swallow, his nostrils flaring and he said slightly shakily, "I'll get you a new set. Keep talking, Ginny."

"I had a sugar crash at their welcome home party. We really just built them a giant blanket fort and baked them a cake, but it was a fun tradition for breaks anyway. They always came home to just us for at least two weeks before their friends could come stay or they could go on sleepaways. Charlie always had Ralph, like Ron and I always invited you two, the twins had Lee. Bill didn't really have as many friends because his year was really small at Hogwarts, I think he was the only Gryffindor guy."

"Just for the first part of the year, then all of the muggleborn kids who'd been been learning somewhere secret showed up and I got a roomer. The trials were done and the Ministry's finally decreed He was really gone so they came at the Halloween feast. They don't know where they were, but I still think they were at Hogwarts the whole time because once they showed up, Hogwarts seemed to lose an entire East tower and the teachers already knew their names." Bill said coming back into the bathroom.

Ginny looked at the clothes and sighed seeing the lacy edge peeking out from under the folded leggings, "Are you trying to make this harder on yourself?"

"This is all that's left, ok? It's been a little too busy for me to do laundry." Bill said defensively as he tucked the periwinkle lace out of her sight, he seemed to be starting to shake. "Tonks sent me over some stuff she bought for her after she dropped you at the airport, to make sure she had woman things."

"What's wrong with the clothes, Ginny?" Hermione asked.

Before Ginny could answer, Charlie was yelling. "Wand is buzzing. You've got about a minute before the really bad one."

The water cut off and a towel grabbed down and her hand reached out for the clothes as she could be heard furiously drying herself and trying to get dressed. She didn't make it before Bill just plunged through the curtain, the rack coming crashing down as he flung himself at her in full shakes. She was hugging him and he boosted her up to his height to bury his face in her sore shoulder. Ginny thought it must be uncomfortable with her hip to have to wrap around his waist like that and his hands had to be on fire. Yet, they really were very pretty knickers, she'd have to ask Tonks where they were from.

Running steps could be heard on the stairs and Charlie was in there a moment later, "Oh. Ok, ok. Bill, just take her to the bed, you're hurting her."

Bill did as he was told and Ginny moved out of the way, hating seeing him trying not to sob and the words pouring from his mouth. She flew a muffliato at them and found Charlie doing the same, his wand also flicking a blanket over them. Charlie shifting his feet, "Bill can't stop himself at the moment. I don't even think he knows he's narrating."

Ginny nodded and felt ice run down her spine, "I fell in, remember? How'd you get the schedule?"

"We timed him when he first started to lose it after he was out of the shock stage. Between him and Hermione I have a rough idea of the events he's looping through. He regressed with the moon, that's why he made the posters." Charlie sounded rather miserable.

Ginny couldn't help herself from asking, even though it was invasive and horrible and she'd already seen more than enough. "This event?"

Charlie looked at the floor his voice dropping in volume, "Greyback told her what he was going to do to her when he was really allowed to play with her. The bastard is still alive and he's terrified if she's ever captured again it will happen. They'll have to stay up here, I think, just you or I for company so he doesn't take out his anger on well, anyone."

Ginny nodded, her stomach twisting in horror. "I'll set up chess, best to tell the others. They'll be worried from the noise."

With one last look at the two tangled people on the bed her stomach twisted again, Bill hadn't even cried when he'd been mauled, so seeing him like this was awful. Ginny briefly wondered what else Bill would have to give up in this war and pushed the thought away, determined to beat Charlie at chess. "Charlie, go down and tell them, don't yell. It might startle them and bring up some up more firewhiskey and vodka."

She began setting up the chess set near the fireplace and when Charlie came back in, poured them both drinks. "Since you saw Ralph's tattoo, did he happen to mention what I wrote in the thank you note? I really can't remember and I'm afraid to ask him in case it's embarrassing."

"Oh, he said you were really sweet, talked about how she was such a strong woman, and he drew her a dragon and thestral on it. I don't want to hear him call you sweet, Gin. Pawn G7 to G5."

"He drew all of our tattoos. Pawn, D2 to D4." The chess piece started to slide, "Deal with it, freckle face, girls are sugar and spice."

Charlie made his next move, before frowning at his sister. "Did Mum do the chastity belt charm on you?"

Ginny gave him an affronted glare and ordered her men, "No, that's from Muriel's age, though I think Mum might have had it. Such a lovely sexist tradition. You all can do whatever you please, as long as it's not with a pureblood girl."

Charlie eyed the bed speculatively, noticing the crying had stopped and they seemed to be pulling it together before motioning to his little chess man, "Exactly, but why did they need it if they were hexing the guys hands? Do you know how to do it? The moon isn't even at its zenith yet and I don't really want to spend most of the night in Bill's bathroom. He indicated some of their emotions are going through the latch now, they can see each other's brains or something so the hormones are just going to get worse as they bounce back and forth."

"Don't be gross, Charlie. I'm pretty sure the poster behind you says I can't hex her and it's permanent. I don't want Bill to break my nose or Hermione to attack me with birds, even if she does want to wait. What if they don't stay together and she marries a muggle guy who can't take it off?" Ginny shook her head in annoyance, she hated when Charlie felt the need to pretend to be a jerk, she motioned to her rook. This was probably some stupid tactic to throw her off her chess game.

"It's a charm and Bill would never hit you. He'd hit me." Charlie protested and she could tell he was doing this just to rattle her chain over the Ralph thing.

"No, don't get to do that just so you don't have to hang out in the bathroom. If you do, I'll make you and your muggle non-girlfriend go on double dates." Ginny shot back, completely aggravated with him by now.

"Well when you put it like that it makes me sound like an awful person. And hey, he's off limits in arguments! That's just over the line, Gin. You've already robbed me, stolen a dragon, at least leave one thing sacred in my lonely life." Charlie objected dramatically and took a sip of his drink.

Ginny laughed in spite of herself.

Abruptly, another chair was being pulled over from by the bed. Hermione seemed to be crying lightly as she settled on Bill, who seemed to have stopped his shaking sobs and just looked scarred, blotchy and furious. "Can you make it a really violent game for us? I don't want him to hit you again, Charlie."

"I really want to." Bill said, voice slightly hoarse.

Charlie turned to his little chessmen, "You heard the lady's request, be absolutely brutal."

Ginny told her pieces of white, "You're to utterly destroy them, understand? Bishop D1 to G5."

Hermione smiled slightly as Ginny's bishop took the orders to heart and not only destroyed the pawn, but used part of his own pieces to beat him a few more times for good measure. So while the memory of different game of chess had been used to torture both Hermione and Bill, now one was being used to help heal them.

* * *

*/ **Warning** for some serious implied T. Skip ahead to the stars if it's not your kinda thing.\\*

"Ginny, go watch Bill and Hermione. He's taking another shower." George heard Charlie call and there was some sort of noise in response. Charlie came downstairs and grabbed the firewhiskey from the table, looking utterly exhausted.

"So, George. Switzerland with Muriel? Dream vacation?" He said to his brother, who was currently brewing the lucidity potion.

George grinned back, he really was rather excited about it. "I'm her show pony. I always wanted to run away and join the circus, bet now they'd take me."

"You will take care of her, right?" Charlie asked him in that tone of trepidation he'd always used. George knew Charlie thought they were a little brash, but not with people's lives.

George nodded, still smiling, "Not a hair on her head will be harmed, o' Muriel's favorite one. I'm going to shove a portkey at her if it comes to a fight and she'll be wearing protective clothing. Something we've had Bill helping us with. I'm surprised she didn't want you to take her."

"Bill. Dragons." Charlie shrugged and took a sip. He knew the twins were suddenly gaga over her and it only seemed fair they get the adventure this time. He had his own memories of Muriel before she'd gone senile, they didn't.

"Keeping Ginny in line." George offered another reason with a wicked grin, feeling oddly sentimental. "Why did she have to stop wearing pigtails and grow up to be like us?"

Charlie just took a longer swig of firewhiskey, looking aggravated. "If there was anywhere safe enough, I'd lock her up and throw away the key. Just for everyone else's sake."

George's grin dropped and he shifted, he knew Charlie was upset about the dragon back incident, but it didn't change everything else Ginny had been through in the past few days. "She's just shaken up by everything and won't talk about it to anyone. You know how she gets."

Fred came in, "She'll bottle it up whether she's mad or scared, then explode on some unfortunate victim. Where is she? Harry asked me to start to the wash and I dutifully obeyed."

"With Bill and Hermione." Charlie said, taking another long sip. Fred rolled his eyes and poured them both glasses, "Don't be gross, Charlie."

Dean came downstairs after a time, "Anyone want to start a game of gobstones? Looks like Harry and Ginny aren't coming back anytime soon. Bet they're hashing-"

He was cut off as a loud, very feminine moan caught at the edge of need and fulfillment echoed through the cottage. Charlie's eyes widened and he started cursing and running for the stairs only to find Fred had apparated in front of him to block him as more breathy incoherent noises split the air. "Don't mate, it'd be cruel at this point to stop them."

"She sounds like she's past the point of no return." George agreed, throwing a silencing charm at the ceiling. "Give them five minutes and go stun him. I doubt you want to walk into whatever is going on and try and stop it. He'll try and kill you if you see an inch of her."

"I've completely fucked this up." Charlie said and walked back over to take another sip of firewhiskey, but waited, mumbling to himself in complete frustration. "How could I have left two freakishly smart people alone and think they wouldn't figure out a way to unhex his hands? I yelled for Ginny to go in there, I really did."

"Erm," George said, moving towards the stairs, seeing Charlie's wand start sparking with little jets of anger. "I'll go. You'll hit him too hard right now, Charlie."

"I bet that's what Bill is." Fred murmured under his breath as he joined George in heading up the stairs. Charlie thumping angrily behind them. George held up his hand to knock, finding Fred was already just shoving the door open.

Hermione's ragged voice, sounding as if she was trying to catch her breath, "Always like this?"

Bill's low timbre could be heard through the bathroom door, self satisfaction completely evident in his husky tones, "No, love. This is just the beginning. Wait until I can really touch you."

Charlie's anger snapped, "Bill, I'm coming in there. You two better be decent."

"We are." Bill's voice came back and Charlie threw the door open, revealing a very out of sorts, slightly trembling, fully dressed Hermione on the bathroom counter with Bill holding her waist from behind, her back firmly against his chest. George wondered how Bill was managing to pull of looking both contrite and completely smug at once as he leaned his head against hers. Then he kissed her temple and gave them wink and was completely unrepentant, his words an order. "Let me take her to the bed and give her a potion before you stun me."

He lifted the jelly limbed girl to his chest and carried her into the room, showing off his patterned swim trunks. George could hear her murmuring into his chest, "Again?"

"No, we weren't supposed to do that, love. I'm going to get in trouble. Drink your potion and have a biscuit." Bill told her softly as he settled them in, shoving a potion at her and propping pillows around her sore hip.

"No broken rules." She murmured as her eyes drifted shut against his chest. George looked at Fred, who looked back, then they both looked at Charlie while waiting to make sure her breathing evened out.

Charlie had cooled a bit, but still looked rather unhappy. His voice was clipped, "Bill, what happened? You said you could control yourself."

"I certainly did control myself, I could have done a lot more. She's right, we didn't break a single rule." Bill protested, still unable to stop giving them a laconic smug grin.

"How'd you get the hexes off?" Charlie was practically barking at him.

"I didn't." Bill was just so satisfied with himself, George thought Charlie might punch him to get the smirk off his face.

Fred cut in, "Bill, look. Do we need to cast any contraception charms? You didn't have a wand."

Bill looked utterly startled, "We didn't do that." Then excitedly pleased with himself again, that bit of wolf in him felt the need to share. "We just found a way around the hexes and it was so utterly hot it's burned onto my brain in its own new loop. Fucking hottest thing I've ever done or ever will do to a woman."

"Bill, what the hell are you talking about? Charms or no charms?" Charlie snapped.

The three sentence explanation they were given caused George, who had never looked at Hermione Granger in that way, immediately decide he was going for a nice cold swim and very definitely going to try that with Ang. Fred's startled exclamation, "Bloody hell, Bill."

"You asked." Upon seeing their reactions, "Stop it, don't think of her that way." Bill pulled her possessively closer, the moon causing the wolf bit to flare brighter.

"Well, brother, you can't just tell blokes that and expect us to keep it together." Fred shot back, hotly bothered.

"I'm going to do it again." Bill bluntly told them. "She asked me to."

Charlie hit Bill with the stunner to end the argument, cursing to himself as he went over to shove dreamless sleep down Bill's throat to ensure, he did not in fact fulfill Hermione's wishes of having it done again. Then promptly headed for the shower.

* * *

Ginny ran into Harry as she went into the room he was sharing with Dean and the twins, looking for other clothes that needed a wash. His green eyes disconcerted her and she stumbled over her words. "Do you any laundry need done?"

Harry grabbed their hamper and went with her, not saying anything. Inside she trembled, this wasn't how love was supposed to go, or even friendship. It had always been Harry, but it also hadn't. Ginny settled for practical at the moment, "Do you mind casting the spells? I can't do magic because of the trace. We're afraid they've made my signature Taboo since Percy's place was destroyed and it might break the wards."

Harry's voice was clipped, "I don't know them. If you're not doing magic, how are you allowed to chaperone?"

Well, that was a good question, and the underlying anger in his voice wasn't helping. "I'm keeping them company, which is what they need right now. Bill doesn't see me as any sort of threat."

He called out, "Fred, come start the laundry. Ginny can't do it and I don't know how to do it magically."

"Wotcher." Came the response.

Then he grabbed her by the hand and dragged her out of the mud room, without waiting for a response. She let him pull her, before finally putting her foot down. "Harry, don't be like this."

"Why not? Isn't that what you want? Someone to pick you up and drag you off when you're upset?" Harry's words were angry and she knew he was thinking of the Order meeting. Why was this so complicated? Instead she just threw herself into the sand, sitting. Letting him rant on, "He just manhandled you, Ginny. First on the dragon, then at the meeting. I would never-"

"-Shut it, Harry." Her voice was blazing, but there was a new stridency under running it. "You pushed me away and I understood why and supported you. I always have and always will. But you don't, you can't, understand what this war is like for the rest of us."

Harry dropped down into the sand next to her, his hand settling near hers on the sand, silent in his seething at her sheer gall at talking to him about what this was like. He'd been the one to face Voldemort time and time again. She went on, emotions pouring out of her. "For you this is inevitable, I understand that, but for the rest of us there's a choice. We're choosing you." Her eyes blazed into his, the sincerity and fire there shaking his green. "For you there is only one enemy. He's the only one allowed to kill you, the only one allowed to hurt you. As noble as you are wanting to finish him, the rest of us don't have the luxury of a singularity clause." She winced at her own words and broke the eye contact, but they kept coming anyway. "Oliver Wood is sitting in a cell, Bill got mauled, George lost an ear, plus the other 4 Order members who've died to support you. We're targets, every single one of us." She trembled and looked out to the sea in some sort of attempt to shove away the terrifying anger and fear flooding her. Something in her had snapped and she couldn't seem to stop it all from pouring out in the vortex of emotional aftermath she was caught in.

She bit her lip so hard she started bleeding, and failed when Harry said nothing. Her next words managing to be less harsh and accusatory. "Harry, have you ever had to kill someone?"

His words were quiet and she could feel the ache in his eyes without even looking, "No, Ginny, I haven't."

"Well, I'm pretty sure I have. I blew a man's arm off without thinking twice and heard him hit the water. I told a dragon to kill people. Your war and my war are very different." She dug her fists into the sand to keep the angry tears from flowing out. She hated when she got like this, too riled up to stop and knowing her words hurt, but unable to stem them because she needed to say them. She needed to get herself under control, now was not the time to think of how terrified she'd been on the dragon. How she'd gone cold as the adrenaline rushed her to just keep going, but the cold fear rushed her again now. This time it was her pushing him away, still a softer tone at least. A sad one. "I'm not the girl who walked by the lake with you anymore, who had utter faith in you and Dumbledore to prevent anything truly bad from happening again. I can't be."

Harry dug a fist out of the sand, holding it in is his own, his voice torn and contrite. "Ginny," He paused unsure what to say, "You shouldn't have to do those things. It's all my fault, I said his Name and started the whole chain of events."

"Stop blaming yourself for everything." It was a furious snap as she squeezed his hand painfully tight, willing her mouth to stop. It wouldn't, the last few days were all too fresh and real. "He was in power for eleven years last time before he went to Godric's Hollow, eleven years of people dying. Of people getting tortured."

There was silence as her harsh words hung between them, the implied doubt of Dumbledore letting it go on so long. The slap in the face at the mention of Hermione. The unsaid words bore down on them the heaviest: Ginny would not wait eleven years for Harry to finish his noble mission, would not sit quietly on the sides like he needed her to. Not anymore, not now that she'd seen what war was really like. Not now that she truly realized just how short her life was likely to be as a known blood traitor. Not now that she'd been to battle as alone as he had. He squeezed her hand almost as tightly as she'd clutched his. "I'm working on a plan."

"You better be. I'm counting on you." She responded fiercely. He squeezed her hand again, his other hand coming up to stroke her cheek in what seemed like an involuntary gesture and she realized he was wiping hot tears off her face.

His bottle green eyes were hurt, and his next words so soft they were almost covered by the crashing waves. "I still can't, Ginny. You're…too much of a distraction. I can't take you with me and I can't leave you behind either." He swallowed and looked away, "Let's go on pretending those few weeks were the happiness of some other life, just like I said."

He squeezed her hand one last time in what felt like permission, his hand leaving her face in a soft release, his last words roughly thick as he stood. "Don't wait for me. You've heard the prophecy."

He walked away without waiting for an answer and Ginny fisted her hands back into the sand, tears soaking her face just as surely as sobs choked her chest. Those honest words had created yet a different Ginny. Who was she now? What had she done?

* * *

A/N: So there we go! Reviews are always appreciated, especially in regards to the T part. I'm debating either having to up this to M simply as it is in war, or if anyone's interested I'll post what happened in the bathroom as a related stand alone it's up called 'The Counter', it was accidentally briefly posted here. As always, point out your favorite narrators so you get to see more of them!


	15. Shaken, not stirred

A/N: Keep those reviews coming! Love everyone who's stuck with this, even after the little bobble in file uploads. If what you're reading doesn't make sense, you might need to go back a chapter because you might have just read the M standalone 'The Counter' (I'd love if someone wants to write the three sentence summary Bill gives his brothers, lots of virtual cookies). You'll note this story is now M as well to be able to address more mature subject matter and a lot of cursing here. You get a rather heavy chapter with some filler because I'm still really just an insomniac.

Today brings you: Bill, Ginny (plus some dragons) and Muriel with one heck of a morning.

* * *

Shaken, Not Stirred

"Bill, wake up." Bill was shaken awake by Charlie, his face completely tense. Charlie seeing his eyes open, started shoving a potion down Hermione's throat and unceremoniously rolled her off Bill only to have Crookshanks hiss at him.

"Charlie, What?" But Charlie was already yanking him up, eyes hard.

"Outside." Bill grabbed a shirt, his chest ached, and he started to readjust Hermione into a less painful position and began tucking her back in.

"Now." Charlie said impatiently from the doorway.

"Fine." Bill said, abandoning his work and giving Crookshanks a look that told him to stay with Hermione. "What the hell is going on? Why am I so sore?"

"I had to stun you throughout the night to get you to stop talking in your sleep about your dirty dreams." Charlie gave him a half smile, then hardened. "Five Order houses were attacked last night. Muriel's, Andromeda's, Wood's, the Lupin's and here, but they couldn't get through your wards."

Bill ran a hand over his face, following Charlie down the stairs, fully alert now. "Any casualties?"

"Amos Diggory is dead, Katie Bell probably won't make it and Angelina is having her ribcage regrown. We were lucky, if you can call it that, but we need to redo the wards at the other houses. If Mum hadn't been there with Dora and Remus, she's not sure what would have happened because Dora went into labor."

"Muriel's?" Bill asked, shoving away the possibilities as George and Fred fell into step with them. George looked pale but determined and Fred just looked slightly sick.

"Fine. Angus broke his containment wards and took care of them. I'll have to go over, Ralph can't get Angus to show him what he wants to give Ginny as a prize and is afraid it's a-" Charlie abruptly cut himself off, "Nobody likes when their cats bring them presents, let alone dragons." Charlie's voice was clipped with tension.

"Bloody hell." Bill cursed and pulled his wand, "We need to check outside the wards here. At least we know they hold. Did any of you know they were trying to get in?"

"No," Fred's voice was serious, exchanging a very tense glance with George. "We looked outside to check the snitch charm. You're not going to like it, Bill." Pause as he looked at Charlie, "Should we tell him in advance?"

Charlie shook his head and put a hand on Bill's shoulder and squeezed, "It's why I knocked Hermione out. Try and keep calm." Then twisted with Bill as a side-along.

The first thing that hit him was the cacophony of smells: blood, fear and Fenrir Greyback. His muscles immediately tensed as they arrived, fury already beginning to flood him. The twins had apparated in front of them to block whatever it was, so he shoved them bodily aside and froze. Fury becoming pure rage, rage becoming determined ice that flooded his veins, freezing away any concept of feeling. He knew he was spiking magic down the bond and understood why Charlie had taken Hermione briefly out of the equation.

The curly haired brunette girl on the ground was dead, her entrails spread out as if they'd been played with as he mauled her. More ice flooded him as he read the words dug into the sand with a claw. "Her screams belong to me."

Bill knelt down next to the body, eyeing the forearm with the words carved in to erase any doubt of who Greyback meant. He reached out and shut the horrified brown eyes, eyeing the poor thing. "Most of this was done post mortem. I think he broke her neck."

He looked up at them and their horror seemed very far removed from the glacial freeze he was running on. "Hermione doesn't know about this. Ever. Lie to her. If you mess up _Obliviate_ her."

They all nodded and Bill reached down for the girl's pocket, "Charlie, take Hermione to Muriel's, Fred set the runes there and figure out who can do it at the other houses. We need to spread it out. Keep Hermione until I come for her."

'Bill, are you ok?" Fred's question was unusually tentative.

Bill began searching her other pocket, looking for some sort of identification. "No, Fred, I'm not ok, but if this is how Greyback wants to send me a message, he's really not going to like what he gets in return."

He stood, walking over to wash the blood from his hands in the ocean, she hadn't had any identification. Charlie voice still had the same harsh tones, "You think the message is for you? Not Hermione?"

Bill stood and crossed his arms, mirroring his brother's pose. He let the wolfish part he kept contained flare up, the instinctual knowledge easier to accept at the moment. "Definitely, she's a toy for him. Greyback likes to keep track of all of his little creations. I'm considered an abomination since I'm caught in the middle, which he thinks is some sort of torture. So he'd have a general idea of where Shell is." His scars twisted in an odd grin, "Wards don't keep out smells. He can smell that I have the pet he'd been promised and that she and I are involved." He felt his face twist into smirk or a grimace, "It'll be driving him completely insane."

There was a beat of silence and Bill went on, feeling the fury crack through the ice for a moment before it froze over again. "If he wants to come to me that just makes it easier to kill him."

"Bill-" Charlie started then stopped at the look Bill was giving him, "C'mon Fred, let's take Hermione and Ginny now. George you've got to get going if you and Muriel are going to catch the portkey. You'll handle this part?"

Bill nodded, the unfortunate girl had died to send a message to him. She deserved to have him take her home and say a prayer for her. "I'll get her to the muggle authorities, they have other ways to identify people."

George paused, looking back, "You're not going to do anything rash, are you? Like go after him?"

Bill shook his head, still feeling the glacial cool in his bones. "This time of the month? I'm furious, not stupid. Get going."

He neglected to mention that it didn't mean he wasn't going to set one hell of a trap once he had the poor soul taken care of.

* * *

Ginny woke in a nest of blankets, the smell of leather, smoke, and spearmint around her. It took a moment to focus, she felt like she was being called and she couldn't quite hear who. A glance around the room told her Hermione was asleep on the opposite bed, showed the tent the dragon tamers were using, the abandoned cup of mint tea. She rose, feeling the fiery pull again and left the tent, letting it guide her towards the two figures surveying dragons in the morning light. Charlie noticed her first, "Go back to sleep, Ginny."

She couldn't though, her feet were pulling her toward them. Somebody wanted to talk to her and it was stronger than the sleep potion she'd taken after Charlie had kicked her out of the room. She knew it in her bones. "Who's calling for me?"

They exchanged a glance and she felt Ralph's jacket drop around her shoulders to stave off the morning chill.

He took her hand and Charlie took her arm, guiding her forward at Angus' excited roar. Charlie sounded resigned, "Robinson, we'll have to do the spell, he's too determined. Just look at her, she's half gone already." He turned to her, "Ginny, this might not be pretty. Just ask and I'll modify your memory, ok?"

"Don't worry, sweetheart." Ralph said quietly.

She nodded and felt the spell hit her, the whisper of smoke that had edged her dreams becoming Angus' familiar dragon fire encircling her mind. She could feel the excitement thrumming through him. He used his claws to pick something up very carefully and set a broom before her, the juxtaposed images hitting her as he let out a pleased roar: him very carefully flaming someone off to not hurt the broom, her smacking George's bloody face with her broom, splintering it as she did so.

She smiled and sent him back images of how happy she felt flying, of whizzing through quidditch or just up around the Burrow. She reached up and gave him a tentative kiss on his hide. "Thank you."

He roared again, jostling her back into her keepers as he turned his neck. He turned back with another treasure in his teeth, the dragon fire at the edges of her mind flaring with his pride. He dropped it at her feet, excitedly showing her how this one had been last and he'd bitten him off his broom. Charlie was completely startled, "Holy fuck, he's still alive."

Ginny tried to shove images back at him, telling him he'd done a good job, but found it harder. "C, take him inside and sort it."

Charlie moved away at a jog with the man floating beside him. Ginny watched him go in silence, squeezing the hand she was still holding. Suddenly, she felt Ralph's hand clench hers, "Helena! No!"

Then she was being thrown and hit the ground, Ralph diving after her in a tackle. Startled she heard him grunt in pain and saw his wand go flying away from them as he rolled her away from the dragon tail that had struck him instead of her. "Fuck."

She was back in sync with Angus, he was trying to desperately reassure Helena that Ginny didn't want him or the eggs she was making. Showing her that Ginny wasn't his, Ginny had her own mate. The image of her with Ralph on Helena's back going through the bond.

"Bloody fuck! My wand. Have yours?" Ralph said again, before grabbing her and rolling them directly under Angus.

"I don't!" She could hear the fear in her own voice as she watched the fire flare near them.

His light eyes looked intense as he shared something with Helena, His words were rushed. "She'll kill us, but not him."

The dragon fire hit her mind as she slipped into sync. The rain was pounding the walls and he was flying up the Burrow's staircase, quaffle in hand, trying to avoid Bill with Ron behind him facing backwards, beater bat in hand. Her clutching his back for balance as Ron hit the bludger at them. She tried to hit it, missed and he got smacked by both the bludger and her bat, getting flung off the broom. He twisted just enough to catch her as she went off after him, trying to shield her from the impact as they tumbled down the stairs, broom smashing down after them.

Helena had paused, her head craning down to try and peer at them and Ginny fell back into sync again as he threw whatever he could think of at the jealous dragon.

She saw herself with Charlie at the Burrow's apparition point, practically dancing in the snow with her wand drawn. 'I want to do it!' Charlie shrugged in amusement, 'Go ahead, Ginny.' 'Who's your favorite gnome?' She asked, eyes sparkling as she grinned at him. 'Tiber. Mainly because he maimed Charlie.' He responded with a laugh at her, realizing just how much she'd grown up right before she launched herself into his arms. 'I've so much to tell you!' She said excitedly into his chest and how it took effort to look away to Charlie, who rolled his eyes at her antics. His internal prayer of _please not Charlie's sister, don't let this be what I think it is_.

"Ginny send something, she's calming." Another hiss as he pressed her further into the ground to avoid the dragon's weight shifting above them. So Ginny showed Angus how they'd exchanged Christmas gifts a few days later on the steps after gnome call, wrapped under his arm in the blanket, asking why he hadn't used a warming charm. How he'd told he didn't use magic when he visited for his family's sake and how for a very long moment she'd thought he might kiss her before he turned to watch the snow fall.

"I almost did." It was a confession as his lips slid to hers. She felt the familiar flare in dragon fire as the next memory slammed her. She was lying on her stomach, wincing as the needle stung her skin and cursing at him. How he'd stroked her odd dark hair, telling himself it was just get her to stop cursing and flinching before he gave up and kissed her.

Helena let out an angry roar and Ginny's lips were occupied as the next flicker passed from her as he rolled them further under Angus and away from the flame being thrown at them. The feel of music thrumming through her as they danced at the disco, Ralph's deep baritone singing the muggle song into her ear. She'd turned her head to tease him only to find lips instead and how she'd completely fallen into the kiss.

Angus shifted above them and Ginny felt everything escalate frantically, Angus sending Helena images of their coupling. Ginny was clutching at him, shifting her hips to give him better access as the images and passions began to surge. She wanted his shirt off, but couldn't get his arms up high enough because of the dragon. She wanted it off so badly it just disappeared and she could just clutch at the muscles. She felt scars under her hands as more images began to slam between them, dragon and human, ricocheting in a rapid spiral.

The ground shook as Angus moved towards Helena, careful not to crush them even in his haste. The need had her shoving a hand between them and getting his buckle undone before his own pulled it away, clutching her hand into the ground, his voice rough in her ear, "No, Ginny."

She tried again with her other hand as Angus and Helena met, completely losing herself to the dragons in the moment. She got the button undone and part of the zipper before he had her other hand pinned, fingers intwining, his voice hanging onto some sort of shred of control, "No."

Angry at Ralph's denial and too tied to Angus she did what he was doing: she bit into his shoulder, trying to muffle her frustrations. She was no longer Ginny Weasley, she was a dragon who was not being allowed to mate properly, clawing his hands, trying to flip the man whose lips she was glued to. This was simply not enough.

It ended abruptly, a furious, cursing, Charlie pulling him up off of her and punching him, his exclamation of "Thank Go-" then another punch to his jaw. Charlie's furious voice "That's my sister!" He pulled back his fist again and Ginny threw herself at Charlie, trying to pull him off, making noises of rage at what he was doing to her mate. She was shoved away hard enough she landed on her back and Ralph began shoving Charlie, using his legs to flip Charlie over him. Curses words were flying between all of them as they struggled on the ground, always pushing her out of it as they flung hits back and forth. Ralph getting increasingly enraged each time Charlie shoved her. Charlie rolled so he was on top and she threw herself at his back, trying to get him into a headlock and biting his ear to make him stop attacking what was hers. He threw her off and she cried out in pain at the sudden impact with the ground. The two of them flew apart with a sudden bang, Ron and Fred running at them, yelling.

Ginny managed to get herself standing and Ron hit her with a sticking charm. Charlie's voice furious as he clutched at his ear, "Damnit! Ginny are you a fucking vampire?"

"Watch your damn mouth." Ralph had also managed to get to his feet, his side heavily bleeding from the dragon tail, his face oozing from Charlie, his shoulder from where she'd bitten him. Fred waved his wand and they all abruptly went silent.

Fred ran an a hand over his face, "Raise your hand if you're calm enough to tell us what's going on."

Three hands shot in the air. Fred paused, trying to lighten the tension as he pointed at them in turn, "Eenie, meanie, miny, mo. Ginny."

She glared at Charlie, "Helena thought I wanted to steal Angus from her and ended up trying to kill me. Ralph tackled me, but lost his wand." She pointed at Ralph's bloody side. "Charlie, undo the charm." She paused, before trying for diplomatic, as she clutched at her throbbing arm. "Sorry I bit you."

Charlie angrily swished his wand several times, Ralph shook his head as he came back to himself and Ginny felt the spells hitting her and not taking. She growled at him as Angus roared. Charlie waved his hand and Fred let him talk, "Find Robinson's wand. She needs a double hit."

Fred and Ron started hunting around, Ron holding it up and walking it over and giving it to him and allowing him to speak. "C, Helena's still in heat. It was the only way to keep her from barbecuing us. Anyone see my shirt?"

"Ginny, are you ok? He was fucking holding you down." Charlie shot back, not waiting for answer, still utterly furious. "On two. One. Two."

She felt the dual spell hit her and then her mind had no dragon fire; no mating lust or angry rage and instinctually she glanced over at the dragons. It was rather violent: Angus was biting Helena, his claws dug into her back and she was smacking him with her horned tail, her neck curved back around to bite him back. Ginny felt her hand involuntarily go up to her neck, feeling the bruise. Ralph started to argue and Ginny felt herself flush, her voice going out. "He had to hold me down, Charlie, I erm."

"She had the male dragon." Ralph cut her off, reaching down to fix his pants, as if that explained everything.

Charlie seemed to cool, and as everyone looked around for his shirt she blurted, "The shirt is gone. I, um," She flushed all the way to her toes, "I think my magic flared and I vanished it."

Ralph gave her the half smile that crinkled his eyes, he'd always been fascinated by her accidental magic. Charlie made a completely outraged sound that was only drowned out by Hermione's caterwaul of "Bill?! Bill?!"

Ron went running towards her, towards the figure that was on the ground trying to body crawl her way towards them. She was clearly crying and had been for awhile, Ron dropping down near her. "Hermione?!"

She batted at the ground, shaking with hollow eyes. "He's not answering me. Where is he? Where am I?" A choked sob, "He left me."

Ron's voice was gentle, "You're at Muriel's. Several Order houses were attacked last night, Bill had to help with the aftermath."

She focused on him, sounding utterly desperate. "He's ok? He just can't come?"

Ron was completely assured when he said, "Yes. He wanted you safe so he sent you with Charlie."

She nodded to herself and Ron's next offer was very tentative, "Can I help you? You're hurting yourself by crawling. What happened?"

She hesitated and he backtracked, "Or Fred? Or Charlie?"

She gave him a tentative smile, despite still shaking. "That would be nice, Ron. I tried to run when I heard voices and fell. Couldn't get back up."

He lifted her gently and she tensed, before murmuring into his shoulder. "I've had the worst nightmares."

They walked back by and Ginny felt herself unstuck, Fred motioning after Ron and Hermione and Charlie ordered her, "Go with them."

Ralph was speaking too, "Did I hurt you, sweetheart?"

"No." She shook her head and turned to follow. Shaky herself, she listened as Fred asked if they were going to kill each other and receiving a negative response. Fred fell into step with her and Ralph and Charlie's conversation floated back. "Helena should have hit you harder. Hell, I should have."

"Probably, but help me walk, prick." The sharp response, edged with pain.

"If you did anything, if you hurt her like that, I really will kill you. You kept control?" Charlie asked and Ginny glanced back, seeing Charlie sling an arm across his back and under his shoulder to take on the weight.

"Managed to by thinking of your ugly mug." The response was gruff and Charlie laughed, apparently no longer upset at the fact they'd just been in a giant, dragon induced brawl.

"That's what I'm here for. Break anything?" Charlie asked still snickering and Ginny wondered just how rough dragon reserves got.

"Helena smashed a few ribs as I got Gin out of the way. Don't think she punctured the lung. Your hard head might have broken my hand."

"Or Ginny did. I'm banning her from the dragons."

"Agreed."

Ginny wasn't even outraged as Fred took her arm and a friendship fell back into place, just rather stunned at how much she'd felt rushing through her. She'd needed to feel something, needed the rush to overcome to coldness that had invaded her since she'd gotten on a dragon. Fred was eyeing her. "Want to help Tonks have her baby or stay with Hermione?" His voice dropped, "If you behave, we won't tell Mum that you tried to make Charlie match George."

"If you tell Mum that I bit Charlie you have to tell her he hit me." She replied, feeling more like herself with the sibling banter. "Then she can be mad at everyone."

"She's too busy trying to get a baby out of Tonks to be mad at anyone. Tonks is having a rough go of it, cursing just about as much as you three were."

"That's saying something."

* * *

Bill hit the apparition point at Muriel's and took off at a run, he could hear Charlie and smell her at the tent. He went in, not expecting to see Ralph with his side bound up dropping dittany onto Charlie's ear. "What the bloody hell happened to you two?"

They shared a look and said in unison, "Dragons."

Bill shook his head, "Where is she? She's supposed to be with you."

"In the house. Ron took her when she got upset. Got everything sorted?" Charlie replied with a slight wince.

Bill felt his jaw momentarily clench and forcibly undid it, if she was ok with it, he would be to. She felt calmer now, though she was still sending little pokes at intervals. "Yeah, got delayed. I was planting the explosives when Harry got himself caught in a riptide and almost drowned. She was calling, but I had to swim out and save him. I think he was trying to make it past the wards, but Dean said he and Ginny had a row and maybe he was just trying to drown himself. Had to get him sorted and all of the water out of his lungs."

Ralph had paused his dripping, and re-stopped the bottle before turning away. Charlie sounded more alarmed, "Glad he's still the Boy-Who's-Living, but can we back up to the explosives?"

Bill patted his pockets and pulled out a map, handing it over. "I bought some mines off of Mundungus on my way back. They're all outside the wards, but memorize the path from the apparition point."

"Bill…" Charlie started.

He ignored the protest in his brother's voice, this was non-negotiable. "While I'd like to kill him in person if he comes back to my beach I'll settle for blowing him up. I rigged them: they won't explode for muggles or anyone in the Order. I think anyway, I'll have Fred check them, this is his kind of thing."

Ralph was shoving something at him, "Can you do that curse that won't let the wearer take it off?"

Distracted, feeling the edges of his brain for how Hermione was doing, he took the object and cast the curse without even glancing at it. She was ok, sore, but curled up with Ginny passing a tea cup back and forth. He tuned back in, "Charlie, read up on blood wards and let me know if you're willing to cast them, yeah? I'd do it myself, but with the infection, best not to.."

He threw a book at his startled brother, Charlie already starting to protest. "Bill, don't you think that's overboard?"

"Not if it saves a life, Charlie. Her life. Keep Ginny here tonight, I'll send Dean. I want as few people tonight as possible for the waning moon." Bill didn't wait for an answer, heading out of the tent with a wave, threw another wave at the cuddling dragons.

"Any particular reason you're waving at them?" Kingsley asked, walking over from the apparition point in his laconic manner. His wand was drawn, "Last mission we took together?"

"Hiding the muggleborn triplets who should have started Hogwarts this year. How?" Bill answered, his own wand feeling almost lazy in his hand.

Kingsley answered easily enough, "We blew the pipes and flooded their house to make them move into a protected location."

Bill dropped his wand, "You make a great realtor. How's everywhere else?"

"I'm here for clean up help at the Lupins, I'm the lead investigator on it, but we need to reset the wards. We're a little short handed and there's a captured Death Eater I need to take." Kingsley rubbed the stubble on his jaw.

"Take Dean Thomas, he wants to join and I need him relocated. Fair duelist and good flyer. Mundungus is also at loose ends today." Bill said as they walked towards the house, he paused out of earshot. "Tomorrow, I'll be back in rotation. Greyback left me a present."

Kingsley looked at him speculatively then nodded, "Fine. I'll have Mundungus get you a set of two way mirrors to handle the latch. You need Charlie tonight? We've got to resettle everyone from Wood's."

Bill shook his head in the negative, "Can't redo the wards?"

"Wood is no longer a home owner." Kingsley said as they fell back into walking towards the house. "If only he would stop taking the piss out of everyone I could get him out of holding. Umbridge made a new law just to keep him there. We need to get his family hidden the way he's running his mouth."

"Yikes. Anything good?" Bill asked, feeling Hermione's happiness that he was near, urging him to her.

"He requested a documented inquiry into her blood status since she hadn't undergone inspection and claimed he would only speak in front of a pureblood who could prove three generations." Kingsley broke into a smile, despite himself. "She was outraged and he threw petrol on the fire by insinuating she was only part human and therefore shouldn't be allowed a wand. She's not well liked, so part of the Ministry is pushing the issue."

"Gotta give him credit, he's more than just a quidditch jock. Probably trying to deflect the heat onto himself to help us." Bill said as they entered.

"Probably, but she's not a Death Eater, we know that much." Kingsley replied as they headed in and could hear a very disgruntled Tonks.

"This is my stop. Let me know what else you need." Bill said.

"Bill?" The voice was strangled and he turned to see Percy, potion in hand over a man on the kitchen table. He looked shocked and Bill felt the familiar wrench of the reaction people had to seeing him now, as if he was some sort of circus freak they couldn't look away from.

"Hey, Perce." He kept it neutral and saw Percy was trying to compose himself, so he opened the door and popped his head in. Hermione was curled on the couch with her legs across Ginny, the two of them under the same blanket and looking surprisingly dirty. Fred was hovering over them, rubbing something on Ginny's face. Ginny muttering at him she could do it herself. Hermione gave him a huge, relieved smile. He grinned back at her, "Mind if I catch up with Percy for a minute?"

She shook her head, bouncing on Ginny in her relief at seeing him, shoving magic his way down the bond.

He winked at her and shut the door, a touch high at just seeing her safe.

Percy seemed to have gotten it together, but was still pale. "Bill…I'm sorry. I mean I'd heard, but I didn't expect.."

He shrugged, "Don't sweat it, Perce. Still startles me sometimes." He pulled him into a rough hug, "Glad you're back."

"Me too." Percy's voice sounded suspiciously tight and he slapped Percy's back to cover his own unexpected emotions.

"How awful have the twins been to you?" He asked, squeezing before letting go.

"Not as bad as I expected." He made a grimace, "They fleeced me for a ton of galleons to rebuild before telling me they'd hidden the shop and put the rubble there." Percy couldn't stop himself from smiling though, "I kind of missed it, you know? They're complete prats, but I forgot how much they make me smile."

Bill nodded and motioned away from the kitchen, where Kingsley had taken over the care of the man and a very tense Remus was sitting, simply staring into his cup. Percy didn't seem inclined to speak, so Bill tried. "So, what happened to Ginny?"

Percy made a sort of helpless gesture, "We heard her screeching in rage over that-" He indicated the ceiling where Tonks was screaming, "-and Fred and Ron went to see what was going on. Something with the dragons started a brawl, but Charlie threw her so hard he dislocated her shoulder and broke her arm. Don't tell Mum."

Bill's eyes widened, "I won't, that's Charlie's life on the line. Mum would give him worse scars than I've got."

Percy nodded seriously, before offering his hand, "I didn't congratulate you on getting engaged! When's the big day? I remember Fleur from the tournament, she was a very striking champion."

Bill didn't take it, he'd forgotten how long Percy was out of the loop. "There's no big day, we broke up shortly after I got mauled. She's engaged again and I've moved on with someone else."

Percy looked flummoxed for a moment and readjusted his glasses, "Sorry, I… How's the new girl taking it? You know with you and Hermione being latched?"

Bill grinned at him, finding unsettling Percy could be rather fun. "Considering I'm latched to her, rather well."

Percy was shocked into silence, blinking his eyes like an owl. "Bill…"

"Don't tell Ron, I've got to handle that." Bill said laughing at his brother's complete inability to register. "Don't look like that, she and I are both adults. You missed a lot, Perce. George was ring shopping before they had to go into hiding. Well, I suppose Fred was too, as his helper. Poor Angelina will probably end up with something ridiculous."

Percy blinked again, finally seeming able to come to grips, "I really have missed a lot. I still can't believe they've grown up."

"Only a little." Bill said and felt his brain be tugged. He slapped Percy on the back again, "Sorry, Perce. We'll catch up more later, but my presence is demanded elsewhere."

Percy nodded and as he walked off he paused to turn back, "It's good to have you home. Can't wait to hear how long Mum cried over it."

"It was hours and she keeps tearing up every time she sees me." Percy called back.

"You know you're getting a tattoo, right?" Bill smiled to himself and reopened the parlor door, not waiting for the answer.

"Hermione?" He said moving towards her, she jolted and in her excitement managed to fling herself off the couch, legs smacking into Fred making him stumble backwards.

He rushed over, finding Ron doing the same, but nudged him away to lift her. "Can we have a minute?"

Fred pulled Ginny up, "C'mon Ron, we need to see if Ginny's got any more bruises before Mum finds out."

Ron lingered and Fred paused, " Ron, do you want Mum to murder Charlie? C'mon."

Ron left with a back look and Bill didn't particularly care at the moment, touching her face to brush the dirt off. "What happened? I'm sorry I couldn't come immediately."

She reached over for him, seeking the reassurance of kiss for a moment. "Nightmares, then I woke up all alone and didn't know where I was. You were gone. Ron said you had to help with the attacks clean up."

"I did." He said, resolutely not thinking about it lest she see. He gave her another lingering kiss, hating how upset she still was at the edges, "I would have come, but Harry needed my help."

She frowned, slightly panicky and he sat, pulling her close. "He's fine, just got caught in a riptide while swimming. I thought you might want him alive after how much effort you've put into keeping him that way."

She gave him a smile, leaning into to press her face against his neck and he felt the magic being pushed back and forth between them, hers soothing his jagged edges and in turn his smoothing away the shaking fear from her nightmares. "You're right."

They sat that way for a few peaceful minutes, her next words a soft request. "Take me home?"

"Of course." He said and bundled her into his arms, feeling a rush of happiness at her usage of 'home' on such a dark day. "Love, is there anyone else you want at the cottage tonight? Dean will be gone, Fred probably too. There's too much going on."

She curled her arm around his neck, words tentative. "Maybe Ron? So Harry's not alone if we hide away, like last night?"

Last night. Last night was something they needed to talk about, as was Ron. He kept his voice light. "Sure, anyone you want."

They exited the room and as they passed the kitchen the look Ron was giving him had both daggers and something else, causing him to wonder if Ron had lingered in the doorway again. He managed some sort of smile at his younger brothers and the impending father to be staring tensely into his cup, "Fred, pop Ron by in an half hour or so? Bring back Dean, Kingsley needs extra hands. Chin up, Remus, Tonks and the baby will be fine."

As they headed for the apparition point she asked him tentatively, "Why isn't Professor Lupin with Tonks?"

Startled by the question, he asked, "Why would he be?"

"Because he's having a baby." Her voice was firmer.

"Well yeah, he's waiting until he's allowed in. Dad says it's torture having to sit there and hear the screams knowing you caused them." Bill answered, slightly confused as to why she thought Remus would be there.

She frowned at him and her voice started to take on the outraged quality he was so familiar with, "Really? Is the wizarding world so archaic that fathers aren't there when their babies are born?"

Her words sounded completely strange to him, "Are you saying muggles have men in the birthing room?"

"Yes." She said and huffed, "Fathers usually get to cut the cord and hold the babies first."

"I don't know what cord you're talking about, love." Seeing her face, he tried again. "Holding the baby first sounds nice?" He answered, feeling slightly out of sorts and not wanting to have this conversation about Tonks' baby. He didn't need to know these things.

"Bill, are you seriously telling me you have no idea what happens during childbirth?" She asked him, her eyes narrowing in indignation.

He paused, as they were at the apparition point, then told her the truth. "Well, yes I am and I'd rather like to keep it that way." He winked at her little squeal of outrage, "Though, I do know how to make babies."

He popped a kiss on her mouth, stilling her protest and twisted them home.

* * *

"George, hurry it up." Muriel told him, glancing around the field surrounding the abandoned cottage. "I thought this was your speciality."

"I'm trying, Aunt Muriel. It's not like I spend my spare time breaking and entering." George replied sounding hassled as he switched to another option on the knife and shoved it back into the lock. "Can you explain why we're here?"

She tapped her foot impatiently, hating that the door needed the knife to get opened. "I didn't like the tone the Minister took about you, implying that because you dropped out of school and run a joke shop you deserved to lose an ear." She frowned and took a sip of potion, "The Minister deserves to have his dirty laundry aired after being so disrespectful."

George was sweating slightly as he tried another option on the knife, "How long will we have if I just blow the wards?"

She mused and then smiled, "Just a few minutes. Let me do it. Your senile aunt was looking for something her darling first husband left her at an old family home. If he wants to act like that then his country gets to know just how into the Dark Arts his family is. Their papers will do a better job destroying him than we can."

"Aunt Muriel…" George started, sounding entirely alarmed as he stood to face her.

"Move out of the way, George." She told him, pulling her wand.

"Can't we just blackmail him the regular way?" George pleaded, not moving. "You know, not put a giant target on this country for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

"No." She felt very decisive at the moment, "Letting them do nothing is just as good as letting them help the enemy. Saying it's not your business doesn't wash the blood off your hands."

"What are we hitting the wards with? I've got a suite of products that should help." George shuffled out of the way, defeated. He really was a sweet one, her Georgie. She smiled at him, thinking it was good he had Fred to balance him out and make things exciting.

"Oh, you're not hitting them, Georgie." She smiled and patted his arm, then focused on feeling the wards. They weren't sentient by any means and these were old ones, but they did like protecting things, especially living things. They knew it was their purpose and she focused on what exactly would happen if they kept protecting what they had hidden, all the of living things that would die. Then she started throwing the spell again and again, shaming the wards with just what they were doing. She staggered into George, he steadied her and she threw the spell one last time, feeling the wards crumble under her onslaught.

It was a shaky breath as George asked if she was ok, "Yes, let's get going. Start taking photos."

The abandoned, dilapidated cottage wasn't there anymore, instead it was a regular, well kept, cottage. She grabbed the knife from George as he snapped away and made quick work of the unresisting lock. She exhaled as the door swung open, hearing George's startled grunt as he began taking more photos. There were dark objects everywhere, she eyed one trying to figure out if it was a monkey skull or one from a goblin. Snap. Snap. Snap.

She set about waiting and straightened her gloves and adjusted her hat, no need to look untidy. She watched him carefully. "Don't touch that, George."

"George, take that out of your pocket." She commanded, watching him take photos and try to slip anything that didn't look particularly dangerous into his pockets.

He winked at her and went back to taking photos, his voice muffled, "It was just a souvenir for Fred."

"I didn't realize you disliked your twin that much. I rather like having a pair." She told him, peering at herself in the mirror and touching up her lipstick. "Pass me that little blue diary, there."

He did as he was told, "Sorry, Aunt Muriel."

She opened it gingerly, "You can take that bag of edelweiss over there, should add some excitement to your Teen Witch line."

She opened the diary and felt the stab at seeing Jan's neat handwriting and began flipping through his carefully kept, experimental journal of a new potion, gingerly tracing a word here and there. She heard the cracks and let a few tears trickle down her cheeks as they stormed the room, feeling George place his hand on her shoulder in support. When she looked up, it was at several uncomfortable men, "I'm sorry, dears. This place belongs to my late husband's family and I very much wanted his old journals. I didn't mean to cause a fuss."

One of them shifted, looking anywhere but at her. "The wards were broken."

"Oh that was my fault," She fluttered a hand at her chest, "When you get old your mind goes."

"My Great Aunt is senile, she does accidental magic like a child. Normally we keep her wand, but she so wanted to visit Switzerland one last time before the pox takes her. It'd be cruel to not let her have the journals." George lied stoutly behind her.

Oh, she did love her wicked George. He was leaning over her, mouthing his next words with just enough of a whisper so she could hear, "She's only got weeks left."

One of the men started apologizing and offering her help when another crack sounded, the Minister walked in and immediately paled, barking first in German before switching to English. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted Jan's journals," She said gesturing lightly around at all the dark objects, "I didn't think you'd mind if I stopped by the family's hidden coffer."

She frowned, looking up at the men who were now truly taking in their surroundings and seeing just what nasty objects surrounded them, "It's awful, isn't it? How my husband could come from such a dark family I'll never know."

The Minister blanched and she worked not to smile, instead peering up at George. "My great nephew is helping write my memoirs, before the pox takes me. He and his brother invented the most wonderful instant photos! Anywhere in the world and they can make them in a snap. Will they be ready by the time we get back to England, Georgie?"

"They should be already printing now, Aunt Muriel." George grinned down at her, "I got a lovely one of you reading the journal."

"Everyone out." The Minister barked. "Nobody's broken in, this is… a family matter. No report needs to be made."

The three rather creeped out responders left, eyeing him rather warily. "Are you planning on publishing them?"

"Are you planning on helping us hide our children away?" Muriel asked him.

There was a beat of silence so she went on, "You're going to hide the little ones, send rations and stop pretending like Europe isn't being dragged into another war."

He looked away and she took a sip of her potion, hating how men could just get so stubborn. George squeezed her shoulder in encouragement, his voice ingratiatingly cheery, "I got some lovely shots of the skulls. I think I'll caption them as blood sacrifices. That's what they were used for, right?"

He tensed and she watched with glee as he caved to their demands, politicians were just so easy to persuade when it was their name on the line. "Fine."

She straightened her gloves again, trying to hide her smugness as she stood. "Excellent, send a plan to us at the hotel and we'll let you review the book." She fidgeted her gloves again, "We've got a pressing engagement to attend. I do hate to be late."

She let George take her arm to escort her out, calling back, "I do hope you have a good day."

George was practically giggling by the time she twisted them away. She smoothed her dress once they landed and gave him a smile, "George, how would you like to tour a chocolate factory?"

His grin was slightly apprehensive, but no less willing. "Are we going to rob them? Blackmail? Set it on fire?"

She laughed, he was so like his uncle. "No, we're going to take a tour and eat chocolate. You've got to balance work with play."

This time his smile was ear to ear and she was forcibly reminded of how adorable the twins had been when little, how it had let them get away with far too much. She took his arm again, "There's also a brewery and we'll pick out some chocolates to take home. Ginevra's been terribly out of sorts and she adores chocolate. Not to mention your mother, little Ronald or poor William, trying to sort out his little bird. He really should just go ahead and marry her if he's going to fuss over her like that."

George made a choking sound and shoved her potion back at her, she took a sip, her stance not changing. "He's much different with her than with the last one. I've seen that look on men, he's just dragging his feet."

"Aunt Muriel, they've been involved for just a few days."

"So? Think it'll change?" She asked and George squirmed. She patted his arm, "William doesn't orbit the sun anymore and that's just how love should be."

George choked, "Aunt Muriel…"

"I've picked out a few of my rings for you, Georgie. The jeweler told me you and Fred had come by to look at options. He's a terrible gossip." She smiled, breaking into a delighted grin at George's blushing, embarrassed face as he looked at the ground. "Don't fret, my pet. I haven't told Molly. Now you and I are going to eat chocolate and you can tell me all about your girl."

"You've met her." George mumbled and she patted his arm.

"If I didn't have the potion I probably just insulted her." She told him matter of factly.

"Err….that's exactly how it went." George conceded, reaching over to squeeze her hand on his arm.

* * *

A/N: Read, review, get to hear from your favorites.


	16. Brace Yourself

A/N: Love all the reviews and the views, expect updates to the companion pieces ('The Counter' and 'The Day we Broke Mum'). This chapter is rather a turning point :) Be gentle, I think it needs another grammar pat down, but I've stared at it too long.

 **Brace Yourself**

Hermione was sipping her tea, clean again, curled into his side as they watched the tide in silence, both lost in the adventures of their mornings. She broke it, "Bill, is there any reason you keep running that Arithmancy equation through your brain? It's going to drive me spare."

He chose his words carefully, shoving the equation away. "There's something I'm trying not to think about."

Her doe eyes peered up at him shrewdly, "Something you don't want me to see? Something you don't want to tell me about?"

Well, yes. He could pull the 'I've never asked you what your mission was' card, but opted for the other conversation they needed to have. "Love, I'm trying not to think about last night. I don't need to get….riled up, again. Not with the moon waning."

She blushed faintly and looked into her teacup, her words soft. "Why not?" Her next ones even quieter as the blush abruptly spread deep crimson across her cheeks, "Why can't we?"

"Because you deserve a hell of a lot better than my moon hormones." He looked away, biting the inside of his cheek. He meant what he said, but he also really couldn't let himself think of how hot he'd found the night before. With all of the aggression he had around Greyback at the moment, he didn't want to have to fight the need to claim. "Love, I'm sorry about what happened, but we shouldn't do that again."

He could feel the tinges of her sudden devastation at his words. She stumbled over her words, "I thought you… liked it." A flash of embarrassed anger as she pulled away from him, "I thought you..well you seemed to want it." She shoved his apologetic hands away, "You knew what you were doing and were thinking about a lot more. I saw some of it in your brain."

He looked out to the sea, berating himself, he hadn't meant to upset her. Yes, he certainly knew what he was doing and most definitely had enjoyed it, but he needed to remember that her fantasies flitting at the edges of his mind had just been intense make out sessions. "Yes, I more than liked it. Hermione, I want that with you, but properly. You deserve that."

He could tell she was glaring at her teacup, could feel her aching with disbelief at his words, "Bill, you've…um?"

"I'm far from being innocent." He bit his cheek again, hating this moment in any relationship. "Hermione, I'll answer anything you want honestly, but please think about what you'll do with the information. What does it give you? Will it change this that I had a life before you?"

The edge of his mind burned with her feelings of rejection: how loved she'd felt when encircled by his arms and the complete, utter trust she'd given him. Singed with the knowledge that a moment he would always cherish was now tainted for her, because he'd had other moments like that. He tried, "Hermione…"

"Don't." She snapped as she turned away from him. "Have Harry or Ron come get me."

"No." Bill said, reaching tentatively for her shoulder. Then just started talking to her back, trying to think of how different he'd been at her age with his exciting new career and good looks still intact. "Love, what's between us is real and we'll get there, but I'll be the first to admit I spent a few years being a complete tosser when it came to women. I'm not perfect, Hermione, but I sure as hell will try to live up to the standards you've set for yourself. You're too important for me to fuck it up by rushing you when we're bound."

One eye peeked back at him, "We've got to work on your cursing."

"Charlie's fault." He replied, feeling a little bit more of the magic start to flow between them.

She turned back to him, "Bill, we're-" she faltered, her mouth adorably forming words silently as she tested them: 'dating', 'boyfriend and girlfriend', 'an item'.

He took her out of her misery with an amused wink, "Love, let's just go with the facts. We're together and I'm a tosser who's trying very hard to be a gentleman for you." She looked grateful for a moment and he winked at her. Again, "Just poor gentleman who can no longer look at bathroom counters lest he become a tosser again."

He really shouldn't have thought of that, now it was going to run through his mind and he wouldn't be able to remember the stupid equation even if he tried. She let out a small giggle as she was trying to look prim, "You did say you were the factual brother." A pause, "Bill, Ron's here now…"

"I know." He hastily cut her off, "We should tell him. I'd prefer to do it alone, but understand if you want to be there." She eyed him and he went on, "I think after everything you've been through and the fact you're just getting used to him again, it's best if I handle the conversation."

She thought for a moment, eyes squinting, "You think he'll get upset and it will trigger something for me?"

"Exactly." Bill told her, "You'll probably have to play mediwitch for me afterwards. I plan on letting him hex me if he wants to."

He pulled her close, feeling her indignation, "I'm the one who gets to be with you when you're everything he wants. It's only fair if he gets a few hexes or punches in."

She snuggled into him, their earlier disagreement pushed aside for the moment. "I'm not anywhere close to everything Ron wants and Bill, sometimes you're an illogical idiot."

'Yep." He tipped her face up for a peck, "But I'm your illogical idiot."

"No, you're my tosser." She murmured back and he grinned against her lips at the acceptance in the statement.

* * *

Muriel dipped her napkin into her glass and reached over, trying to get the glop of cheese off of her nephew's face. He immediately started to protest, "I'm not five, Aunt Muriel."

"You have fondue on your chin like a child." She scolded, still swiping at the gluey mess in his stubble. "You need to shave."

He pushed her hand away with a slight scowl, beginning to wipe at it himself and she shoved is hand away and went back at it. "How do the plans look?"

"What plans?" She asked, still wiping at the mess he'd made. Honestly, he was supposed to be a grown man and was eating like a barbarian.

He leaned away from her, "Give me the paper in your lap."

She glanced down and passed it over, not particularly caring whatever the new decree was and he shoved a potion at her.

"What's that for?" She asked suspiciously, it did not look like her arthritis potion and she didn't want to be put down for a nap like a child. She was enjoying her food.

"Your good health." George or Fred told her, "Aunt Muriel, this is in German. I can't read it, so please take your potion."

"I used to speak German and for Godric's sake chew your food." She told him, still eyeing the potion as he simply swallowed his chunk of gooey bread took another dip.

"That potion will help you be able to do so again. We call it the 'Translation Sensation'." He nudged it further towards her. "I'll pour you some more tea."

She waited for tea as she sipped at the light tasting potion. "Where's the other one?" Another sip, "Sorry dear, but I don't know which one you are. I do wish you both would wear your hair short so I could just tell by the ears."

"Fred and his ears are in England. I'm George." He told her, passing her the saucer. As he did so she caught glance of a paper at the table next to them announcing Grindelwald's death and suddenly felt deja vu rush over her. She looked at the very old bracelet sitting on her wrist as she took the teacup.

She stared at it, at the gift she'd been given in this same cafe almost 90 years ago when she was just a young bride. He'd surprised her with it on their 6th month anniversary and been uncharacteristically serious as he clipped the unusual sandy beads on her wrist, gently telling her someday she'd sit there and think of him before asking what kind of cake she wanted.

"Aunt Muriel are you ok?" Her George sounded alarmed.

She took a sip of tea, murmuring to herself in the cup, "He knew I'd come back too late." Tears threatened for a moment and she shoved them away, they couldn't talk about this here. "Finish your meal and do try to not make a mess."

She swallowed the rest of the potion rapidly, she needed that man's paper. She stared at him, kept staring until he was uncomfortable, but he wouldn't look at her so she gave up and just reached over and snatched it.

"Aunt Muriel!" George exclaimed, before turning to the man, "I'm so sorry, she's senile and sometimes thinks everything belongs to her. Give him back his paper."

"He said I could have it." She protested, clutching the paper tighter. The man looked startled so she glared at him fiercer causing him to mumble something in German into his soup.

"She's got dementia. I just wanted to take her out for lunch on her birthday." George protested, convincingly flushed with embarrassment, while eyeing her.

"It's past time for my nap." She declared and George got up to go pay, she opted to keep glaring at the man just for the sheer joy of watching him shift about uncomfortably. "Your robes are too long and you need to cut your hair if you want a witch."

He tensed and stared into his soup as she put on her gloves, glancing around as she stood and moved towards George. That girl was just being loose, eyeing the soup man with longing. "Cross your legs, nobody needs to see your cauldron. Go talk to the man with long robes if you're going to peek at him."

George was trying to hide his grin, as he took her from the cafe, "Are you senile?"

"No, just playing matchmaker." She slipped her arm through his.

"By insulting people in public?" George challenged and she looked at her bracelet.

"I have a reputation to keep up. Now they have something to talk about when he takes her for a walk." She said in her most proper voice, causing George to immediately start snickering. "If you're still hungry we can pick up buns and I'll smack Ginevra with my purse if she ever sits with her legs uncrossed in a skirt."

He shook his head, shifting the bags he was carrying, "Ginny doesn't, because you've spent a decade pulling a hairbrush of your purse and whacking her knees."

"Excellent. Well done senile Muriel." She patted his arm.

George gave another snicker, then settled down. "Lucidity, what's going on? You just caused a scene over a paper."

She pulled it out and looked at it, noting the date, before dropping to her voice to a whisper. "I need to talk to Grindelwald."

George peered over her shoulder at the paper. "He's dead, so I think we're out of luck."

"Well now he is." She replied, "He wasn't always that way."

George stopped walking abruptly, thinking hard and she smiled as she watched him understand. He frowned. "Aunt Muriel…. Are you suggesting we break just about every international time law then break into the most highly guarded wizard prison so you can chat with a dead man?"

"Well, I rather plan on yelling at him. Jan Saw me going, while he wouldn't tell Grindelwald he told me. Come along, now." She patted his hand again, urging him to start moving.

"I think I'm going to need a bun for this." George said.

"Be quick about it, we've got a busy day."

"We'll have to nick plans of the Ministry so we can break in tonight and get a time turner. I really need Fred right now, the one time I don't have to be the lookout it's got to be bigger than anything we pulled off." George was talking to himself as he walked into a shop and bought himself a snack, being one half of a brain meant he needed the extra fuel.

"Pick something without cheese, you'll get it on your face." Muriel called after him.

* * *

Ginny couldn't seem to stop staring at the baby in her arms, cuddling him closer as his mother slept and his father spread the good news. His hair was softly changing colors and she reached out to touch it, surprised by the sudden presence and the bracelet being thrown around her wrist. "Happy early birthday, sweetheart."

She looked up, completely startled to see him in a suit. "Job interview."

"My birthday isn't for months." She said, jostling little Teddy to try and keep him from fussing more. Ralph took the baby from her, idly popping his finger into the newborn's mouth as he began to rock himself. That's right, he and his brother had traded off bartending and watching their little cousins one summer.

He seemed amused at the way she was watching him, "Ginny, look at the charms. Tug twice on the little plane."

She looked at the bracelet, seeing a number of little objects dangling off of it and found the plane. She tugged and was startled when a passport like Tonks' popped out. He gave her a grin and she opened it. There was a photo of her next to the name Ginnifer Wessels, birthplace Bath, aged 19. Flummoxed she looked up at him, "What is this?"

He was still grinning, but his little friend was really starting to fuss and he headed over to the bed, "Tonks wake up. Your kid is hungry."

"Teddy?" Tonks asked, tired eyes opening.

Ralph dropped a kiss on her cheek. "Yeah, Momma. Congrats."

She smiled at him, reaching for the baby. "Get out, Robinson. You've already seen more of me than I want you to."

He chuckled and left, Ginny followed him, dropping to sit next to him on the stairs. "What does she mean?"

"Walked in on her and Charlie." He picked up her arm, sounding excited. "See the little rattle, that's your birth certificate. The little A is your school documents. The-"

"What are you talking about?" She asked, still rather confused as she eyed the heavy charm bracelet.

"I made you a muggle identity, Gin, in case everything in this world goes to pot and you need to get away. I was only able to get the passport part finalized since I've been back in England. The rest has been done for months. Charlie and Bill helped." He was excited and somber at once.

She looked down at the charm bracelet, completely astounded. How much work had gone into this? She smiled at him, so startled and touched she didn't quite have words yet. "Thank you."

"The money sign is access to Charlie and my bank account." He grinned, shaking her wrist to make it jangle.

"Why do you share a bank account?" It seemed so strange and she was trying to wrap her head around how much time he must have spent standing in lines.

"Because Charlie is a complete child and can't get his own muggle money. We got arrested in Rome because he hexed the cash machine when it talked to him, right in front of several muggle police. Bill had to come bail us out because they'd taken our wands."

"I thought Charlie could do anything." She told him softly, trying to imagine the two of them standing around something muggle and Charlie not getting it. Probably a lot like how she was with Tonks in the store staring at the scary, horrible contacts.

He shook his head in the negative, touching a little key on the bracelet, "Emergency portkey. It'll take you to my grandparents summer house."

"Ralph," She started, "It's too much. I can't accept this as a gift."

"Bill made it so you can't take it off." He didn't seem bothered at all by her outrage and as she was gearing up to yell at him, he went on. "Are you ok about this morning? I hurt you."

She switched gears, yelling didn't work particularly well on him anyway. She looked at her hands, not at him, feeling herself blush. "You didn't. I'm rather embarrassed by the fact I started biting people and forcibly undressing you."

He nudged her shoulder with his, "That little clothes charm is your suitcase. You were fine, better than when I was tied to male dragon running up to mating."

"What happened?" She asked reaching out to touch his arm, he really did look rather nice in a suit and she wanted him to know he really hadn't hurt her.

He grinned, "The fight C and I had made this morning look tame. If he ever tells you he won, he's lying. I broke his jaw when I knocked him out."

"You never wrote me about that!" She protested, nudging him back, fingers brushing against the smooth fabric.

"Sure I did, told you I was helping save an endangered dragon species. Just left out the details of assaulting your beloved Charlie." She swatted him and he reached out for her wrist again, "See the little car, that's your driver's license. The little owl doesn't do anything, but C said he and Bill gave you a stuffed one when you were born so he bought it with a dozen others. Turns out you're his soft spot, sweetheart."

"Why do you call me that?" Ginny asked, watching him lean forward to rest his arms on his legs, her hand held between his.

He turned and grinned at her, "Well you told me I wasn't allowed to call you a little princess anymore."

She laughed and nudged him again, she'd forgotten about how she'd tried banning nicknames at a certain point causing the twins to make up more and more ridiculous ones. He shrugged his shoulders, "It's what my dad calls my mum when he's annoyed with her."

She smacked his chest and he laughed before sobering, looking at her for a very long moment and she had a feeling she wouldn't like what he was going to say. She didn't.

"I'm leaving for London. Took a job with the Ministry." His words were said quietly, but they seemed to echo all around her.

"What?" Ginny was completely off guard at this point, he really needed to stop throwing her for a loops.

"The muggle Ministry. They're setting me up with a flat and everything." His voice had taken on a slightly curt quality as if he wanted the conversation over as quickly as possible.

"You already have a job." She protested, feeling herself twist, "The last wizard who worked with the muggle Ministry got murdered."

He looked at his hands, "I know, but Ginny, there's so few of us who can really walk in both worlds. Fewer even that want to, a lot of muggleborns just leave the other world behind or choose between the two."

She wouldn't ask him not to take the job, wouldn't try and make him stay. Just as she'd told Harry the war was different for the rest of them, it struck her the war was completely different for Ralph too. He could be persecuted and have his wand broken simply because he was muggleborn. His family could be targeted for the sheer fact they produced someone magical. She looked at her own hands, her voice extremely soft. They hadn't even had a chance for her to figure any of it out. "You'll write?"

"Of course." He reached over and pulled twice on a small stamp charm. A narrow metal box was there, "I'll have to do it the other way, here's your box at the post office. It's really in Surrey, but the charm will pop it to you for about five minutes. Just drop the letters in and I'll do the same."

"That's an incredible piece of magic." She said, tugging the charm and watching it disappear.

"McGonagall helped me with a version of it school so I could get letters from my grandparents. None of them do owl post." He deflected the compliment, "I was expecting you to yell at me."

She shrugged, squeezing his hand, her new bracelet jingling like wind chimes. "Why? You're doing what you have to. You would still do it even if I did yell." Something in her blazed, "Besides, if you do get yourself killed I'd rather not have our last conversation be a fight."

His laughter was bold, "That's my Ginny."

* * *

"So, Griphook thinks we can get into her vault?" Ron asked Harry, he'd missed so much being exiled at Muriel's.

"He says we can, I'm just not sure which Horcrux we'll be looking for. The cup or something from Ravenclaw. Any ideas?" Harry sounded so hoarse.

Hermione frowned in thought, "Ravenclaw's diadem has been lost for ages and I don't know of anything else associated with her. Let's assume the cup?"

Ron shared a slightly guilty glance with Harry, they were planning on leaving her behind this time. It was just too much to ask of her after what happened, too much of a risk with how fragile she was. To cover it Harry abruptly asked her a question, "Hermione, how much does Bill know? I know you'd never tell him on purpose, but with the brain thing and him seeing what happened, do you think he knows?"

"He saved your life today, Harry." She chastised, before sighing, "I haven't told him anything and I've tried very hard not to think about any of it."

"He hasn't mentioned it in his nightly updates to the Order." Ron offered, before looking guiltily at his hands. He knew Harry wanted to believe Hermione, but also knew Harry currently viewed Bill as his prison warden. "Look, we can trust Bill. When I left I um…told him we were hunting dark objects to destroy Him."

"Ronald!" Hermione was completely outraged and hearing that familiar scolding tone made him abruptly smile, she hadn't been able to look at him before. She was still scolding, "Honestly!"

She saw him smile and gave a small one back, before ranting on. "You knew that was supposed to be a secret!"

"I didn't mean to!" He protested, "He was helping me figure out how the deluminator worked, ok? It's not like I said the word Horcrux."

"I'm sure it would have been fine if you had, Dumbledore took all the books from Hogwarts, remember?" Harry backed him up and patted Hermione's hand.

"He might have, if the goblins knew about them." Hermione argued.

Ron agreed at Harry's startled look, explaining. "Curse breaking means after Hogwarts, Bill went to goblin school for a few months to learn all about dark objects and how to recognize them. He liked to call it 'how not to get myself killed' class at dinner. Mum banned him from telling Ginny or I anything about it." A pause, a nervous glance at Hermione, "It's part of why he ends up on so many dangerous missions."

"Did he tell you guys anything?" Hermione asked curiously, a soft look in her eye and Ron felt the familiar tinge of jealousy he'd always gotten when she asked about his brothers.

"Just about his teachers, but Ginny and I managed to sneak in and try and read his books." Ron shrugged. "Ginny got nightmares and I just kept getting books written in ancient runes with awful illustrations."

"Unless we want to wait a month we'll have to steal polyjuice-" Hermione started and Harry shushed her, "He's coming."

Bill was jogging down the beach towards them and Ron tried to cover their conversation, "I overheard Fred at Muriel's, Neville is running some sort of resistance at Hogwarts and Fred's bummed because Seamus blew up two of the secret passages."

"On purpose? Or was it like potions?" Hermione's voice sounded high as Bill reached them.

"Oh yeah, after they heard Potterwatch they were afraid the school would be stormed so they let him loose."

Harry made an embarrassed grimace and looked down. Ron watched as Bill dropped next to them on the blanket, trying to discreetly touch Hermione's hand. "You're cold again."

He didn't look at anyone else as a blanket appeared, frowning in concentration to create the cup, his wand finally coming out to stream tea for her. He tucked the blanket around her, asking, "Harry, want anything?" At their strange looks, he shrugged, "Neat trick I learned from Dumbledore when I was Head Boy."

"I'm fine." Harry said, glancing at Ron and Ron knew he was thinking about Dumbledore, about how close and how far away the two had been.

Bill stood again, "Ron, want to help me check the beach traps?"

Ron looked at Harry, who gave him a shrug indicating they would talk later when Warden Bill wasn't around. "Sure."

"No trying to run and no swimming, you two. Hermione, you really should try and nap before dinner." Bill ordered them before beginning to walk away. Ron fell into step with him, feeling annoyed at the tone Bill had taken.

"She's not sleeping well." Bill's voice sounded easy as he explained, but Ron knew his oldest brother well enough to hear the tension running under the facade.

"I heard." Ron told him coldly, shoving his hands into his pockets.

They fell into silence as they walked the beach, Bill seemed not quite uncomfortable, but not at ease either. Bill at least didn't drag it out once they were out of earshot, "Ron, we need to talk."

"About Hermione?" Ron let him stew in it for a moment, seeing his shoulders tense. "I already know, Bill. You can save whatever noble speech you've been preparing."

Bill gave him a half smile, some of the tension leaving his shoulders, "Good, I only had it half done, anyway. It started to go to pot somewhere around me referencing the time Charlie and I were dating the same girl without knowing." His response was light before he sobered, "I really am sorry, Ron. I never meant to start this."

Ron bent down and picked up a shell, not wanting to see the look of sheer pity Bill was giving him. "Yeah, it's real accidental to start sleeping with someone."

"Ron!" Bill sounded genuinely upset, "It's not like that."

Ron threw a shell, watching it skip, trying to push his anger down. "Really? Because I remember having to cast silencing charms to block out you and Fleur during your last latch. Who's to say you're not repeating?"

Bill reached down at a pike in the sand and began pulling a rope towards him, "That was different. Hermione isn't Fleur." He paused, straightening, "It's not just due to the latch if you're going to throw that at me."

Ron skipped another shell, watching it skip as indignation rose at the implication. No Hermione was not as strikingly beautiful as Fleur, but Ron would never call her plain, she was more than pretty enough for Bill. His anger flared at the thought Bill wouldn't have looked twice at her if he hadn't ended up scarred. He barely recognized his own barking voice. "When?"

"When, what?" Bill asked, going back to pulling the rope to not have to look at him.

"When did it start for you? You were practically pouncing on her this summer." Ron clarified, trying to calm himself down as he waited for the answer. He'd finally started to address his feelings only to have to shove it aside for their mission, to get the book and be unable to really use it.

Bill abandoned the rope for the traps, instead throwing a shell himself. It didn't skip, it just landed with a splash into the sea. "Full blown? Summer. If I'm honest, when I came to Hogwarts for Career Day. I stumbled across her during her free period and she was reading a book you'd given her. I'd no idea it was her birthday." Bill tossed another shell and took a breath. "Small talk told me nobody had given her a coming of age bracelet and it seemed wrong. Looking back I practically kidnapped her, she really did want to go to class. She shrieked at me as I sent her homework and books to Dumbledore and blushed as I drug her to Hogsmeade." Bill frowned, tossed another shell and Ron didn't say anything, some of the anger he held slipping away with the low tide.

He kept his silence, instead waiting until Bill went on, still staring at the waves. Bill was talking about his Hermione, the girl who he'd fretted over when she wasn't in Charms. Bill glanced at him now, "We'd exchanged letters before and I knew she had a crush on me, but I had no idea she'd gotten so gorgeous. Suddenly, I was the one stumbling over my words as I helped her try on different bracelets. She probably still thinks Mum and Dad sent me to buy it and take her for her first legal drink." Another shell.

Ron felt his mouth drop open, his words an accusation. "You were with Fleur then and that sounds an awful lot like taking her on a date."

"It wasn't. Not unless you count having a very impatient McGonagall watching as she sat on Fred's knee opening their present and Krum's. I doubt Hermione even remembers most of it, she was giggling before she even finished her first drink and completely trashed after the twins popped over." Bill grinned at him, "I'd never really seen her that relaxed. She very sweetly asked me for a kiss when I took her presents to the carriage after McGonagall was done yelling at the three of us." He grinned then grimaced, "I only kissed her hand, but McGonagall timed her Howler so Fleur would hear it. Fleur went into a complete rage over the fact she hadn't been invited and smacked me for touching another woman."

Ron chuckled as Bill involuntarily touched his cheek. This was Bill, this was his brother and if he didn't try to be ok with this he'd lose both his brother and Hermione. Or worse, he'd make all three of them miserable. He had no doubt that if he asked, Bill would end whatever was going on between them. He pushed it away and tried for friendly, "Hermione wouldn't tell us why she'd ended up in the hospital wing. She'd opened her first present from Krum at breakfast, do you know how hard it was to get her to understand that he'd practically proposed? She wouldn't listen to me or Ginny. Parvati and Neville tried and we had to ask Madame Pince for a book on pureblood customs. She just kept telling us it wasn't like that between them."

Bill rolled his eyes. "He must have been doing the three gifts. She got a really nice wand case when I was with her, looked like it cost him a fortune. George was a grump about it, afraid he and Fred had been bested in presents. You know how they get."

"You didn't cut me from class and take me to drink." Ron shot back and skipped another shell.

"Well you had to spend your birthday in the hospital wing, Ron. After your first legal drink almost kill you." Bill said. "Didn't have the chance, now did I?"

Ron made a face at him, feeling oddly protective of the girl who would never be his sister in law and the girl who would never be his. "Still, Bill, you did give her a bracelet when you were with Fleur. Isn't that messed up?"

"Ron, I never said I wasn't an ass in this situation, but it's not like I ever made a move on Hermione before she showed up on my beach. I just figured Mum would want me to get her a bracelet." Bill said, looking out to the sea and Ron got the sense Bill was stewing again over how they'd all looked up to him growing up and he'd had the mantle of trying to be perfect.

"Only Ginny knew who gave it to her, then around when you got engaged to Fleur she stopped wearing it. I only noticed because she'd stopped playing with it in class and it had been driving me nuts." Part of Ron wanted to hurt his brother, feeling less vindictive than he would have at the start of the conversation. He told himself it was no different than when Harry and Ginny started dating. He didn't love it, but he wasn't going to act like a child over it.

"I wonder if she still has it." Bill sounded rather disgruntled at his description, bending down to give the rope a hard yank at the impatient mew.

"You love her? For real? More than Fleur?" Ron asked, tossing another shell into the ocean. He thought he knew the answer, but needed to hear it confirmed before he could really start letting go.

"I'd kill for her." Bill yanked again, Crookshanks winding between his legs, "Ron, I've never told anyone this. Not even Charlie." He took a deep breath, "Fleur and I only got together after she made me her 'family tea' one night we were both late at the office." Yank. "I told Hermione earlier I'd be honest with her anything she asks." Bill gave a completely angry yank, before looking back at Ron. "So if she asks, I'll have to tell her I slept with Fleur before even taking her for dinner. Hermione deserves a hell of a lot better of a man than that."

"Bloody hell." Ron exhaled, "You're not kidding." Bill shook his head as the trap surfaced from the sea, "Love potion? Mum would go over the moon if she heard that."

Bill just looked angry. "It's not a love potion, it just makes you more susceptible to Veela charms. I'd been putting her advances off for months before we got involved."

"Why?" The startled answer escaped him, Fleur was incredibly gorgeous and utterly captivating in Ron's view. He really couldn't believe she needed any sort of tea to capture Bill's attention.

Bill raised an eyebrow at him, "I'd just moved back to be able to help with the Order. Why date when you're going to have to lie and disappear all the time?"

"That makes entirely too much sense." Ron told his brother, skipping another shell, Bill and Percy were just weird in how they viewed which rules to follow.

"Logic, Ron. It's a rather useful skill to cultivate." Bill had relaxed, the trap was out and he petted Crookshanks for a moment. "Get what ever you want, Crooks."

Ron stared at him, in complete disbelief. "What?"

"I haven't exactly gone out for cat food, Ron. He's clever and gets that the traps have food." Ron made a huffing sound, he would never like Hermione's cat. "We came to an agreement: I catch him fish and he doesn't wake me up by dropping a dead bird on me for Hermione's good morning present. He knows she needs to eat more."

"That's utterly disgusting."

"She goes gaga over it and I'm the one stuck with a dead bird and claw marks, while she cuddles him." Bill said.

Ron laughed, "Same thing with Scabbers."

Crookshanks was happily in the cage, eating a fish and Bill made eye contact so Ron could understand he truly meant it, "You can hex me if you want. Or beat me up."

For a moment Ron wanted very badly to, then a better idea hit him. "Nah, I'll just wait until you piss off Hermione and I get to watch and laugh at you."

Bill gave him a slightly askew glance and Ron started to chuckle, "Believe me when I say she puts Ginny to shame when she's mad." Bill looked hesitant now, "I'm not kidding. I thought the time she attacked me with birds was as bad as it got. It wasn't."

Bill gulped and Ron grinned to himself. It was a very rare thing to see his oldest brother, the one who was cool and always had it together, looking rather alarmed as he glanced back at Shell Cottage. "She wants me to read some graphic medical book on childbirth."

"What? Why?" Ron asked in revulsion, before another thought struck him. "Please tell me you didn't get her pregnant."

"No! It's because of Tonks." Bill looked at his feet, "I'm going to read it."

"Why? Just tell her you did. It's what I always do." Ron advised him, he'd spent many a year with Hermione demanding he read various things.

"I want to, because she asked." Bill kicked some sand.

"You're completely whipped, you know that?" Ron asked him, skipping another shell.

"Nah, I told her no today." Bill skipped one too, before giving Ron the completely lovesick grin that would make him okay with the situation. "She's smashing cute when she's mad."

"Do me a favor, Bill? Just keep the PDA and grossness to a minimum when I'm around. At least for awhile." Ron requested, "Seriously, even if I hadn't asked Harry to be honest with me, you're so flipping obvious it's disgusting."

"I can do that." Bill threw another shell.

Ron grinned, "She's going to eat you alive, you poor sod." Then his grin widened, "I'll have you know, she's a terrible cook."

"I like cooking." Bill hit his shoulder, before his face darkened. "Ron, never say that to her again."

"What? Ok?" Ron stumbled, completely startled by the change in his demeanor and sudden hollow look in his eyes.

Bill ran a hand across his hair to compose himself, "One of the memories that got twisted for her. Maybe don't sit next to her at dinner tonight."

Ron gulped and threw another shell, trying to let the sea calm him. It hadn't been his fault, he told himself. His voice was small, but the request fervent. "Bill, what is it? I need to know so I don't upset her, she's still so tentative."

Bill sighed, "I'll make you a list." Then his face twisted and the words seem to come against his will, "You wearing a locket and berating her about how all there was to eat was burned beans, again. The spell hit and you stabbed her in the hand with your fork over and over." Bill looked away, completely tense. "Bellatrix was breaking her knuckles."

The cat mewed nuzzling Bill's ankles and Bill bent down for him. Ron felt utterly sick to his stomach, watching from a far away place as he tried not to think about that happening to her. Bill's voice was still strained, "I'm sorry, Ron, it just slips out sometimes. I'll write you a list, you don't need to know the details."

"Thanks." Ron managed, watching Crookshanks lick his face and Harry and Hermione heading for them and how badly Bill wanted to go to her. "Bill? Just take care of her."

"Always." Bill said and they fell into step to meet them.

Ron really could be ok with this, but it would take him some time to lick his wounds and figure out how his own tentative friendship would go with Hermione. Too many things had changed.

* * *

Fred dodged a hex thrown by Dolohov as he sprinted towards the Ministry. They'd hit him with an anti-apparition charm as soon as they'd seen him and he'd retaliated. He turned down another central London street, exploding a cash machine into Lestrange's way and smacking him with a Confundus curse. What the hell had happened to Dean?

The glass storefront beside him exploded and he threw an instant swamp over his shoulder, shoving more air into his lungs as he scrabbled back up and took off running again trying to figure out just how many were chasing him. Too many, that much he knew.

He felt a curse like knives hit his back as he slammed himself into the visitor's entrance, grabbed the payphone and tried to turn it into a portkey against the onslaught of imminent blackness. George, if he could only make it to George.


	17. Lines Drawn in Sand

A/N: Wow, feeling very loved at the moment! The reviews are great, huge shout outs to people just finding this and taking time to review more than one chapter. There is some M in this chapter, you can skip it by the stars if you'd like.

Narrators today: George, Bill, Ginny and Hermione

* * *

 **Lines Drawn in Sand**

George was utterly frustrated, they were packed and he had their bags slung across his back, but still they were just standing there both clutching the bracelet. "Aunt Muriel, I don't think this is a time turner. We've tried everything: we twisted it, we twirled it, we rolled it, we spun ourselves in a circle. It's just a bracelet of sand and if it's not I saw his family's heirlooms. There was some serious dark stuff."

"Hush, George. Let me reread this section of his journal again." She started to read the words, "It says all four of the elements must be present, we're missing something. I wonder if he means the bodily humors or earthly elements?"

"Muriel, this is bad idea either way. You don't mess with time travel." George attempted reason and used a little pleading in his voice to soften her.

"You don't have to come, George." She snapped at him. "If you're going to act like this, stay on this side and give me the bags."

George wouldn't have time to respond as Fred would slam into him, the payphone he was clutching smashing into the bracelet. The two missing elements had arrived to hurtle them backwards and George would frozenly clutch his unconscious brother as people moved in and out of the room in a blur around them. Faster and Fred would let out a groan as it finally slowed. It stopped and George would lower him to the ground, yelling at him. "Fred? Fred?"

"Roll him over so I can see his back and give me the healing kit, George." Muriel's voice commanded, healer mode kicking in as she sliced Fred's shirt with her wand stepping over the payphone to kneel by him. George did it quickly, hating how bloody Fred's back was and how quickly it welled up again as Muriel siphoned it off to look at the wound. "Force a blood replenishing potion down his throat and give me the dittany."

As George tried to make Fred swallow the potion, Muriel would murmur the same spell again and again would methodically wave her wand over the deep wound, siphoning blood back in, her other hand dropping dittany on it as she went. It would seem like forever until she sat back and moved to where blood was pooling on the side of Fred's head, she turned him away, dittany dropping there. "Not much we can do for a partially splinched ear, not knowing where it came off."

"Georgie, do we match again?" Fred would ask hoarsely and George felt his eyes fill with sudden tears of relief.

"Tell him you love him and give him a pain potion, George." Muriel said unable to sound firm at her happiness at having him talking.

George pressed his face to the floor so he could see Fred's, found his eyes and scolded him, his own eyes still shiny, "Don't you ever do that to me again."

Fred managed a smile at him, his words painful. "What, slam into you with a muggle payphone?"

"The potion, George." Muriel said, sitting back on her heels while George helped him drink it.

"I love you too, Muriel." Fred sounded better.

"You really need to be in a trauma ward for the internal bruising, but we can't take you to the hospital. Not now anyway, they'd notify your family." She frowned thinking.

Muriel dug through the healer kit she'd brought. She took a sip of her lucidity potion before nodding to herself, "It's the only way. I'll be right back. Give him more blood replenishing if he starts to bleed again."

She had twisted before George could protest and he focused on Fred, picking him up and moving him to one of the beds in the room. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Dean and I were completely ambushed as we were redoing the wards at the Lupins." It seemed easier for Fred to talk since he'd had the pain potion. "We had to split up and run for it, I've no idea what happened to him, hoping he lost them in the mall. Most of them came my way anyway. So glad you thought we should start carrying the swamps and quicksands to throw, a few got stuck and couldn't give chase."

Fred grinned at him and George sat down heavily on the bed beside him, George had never told him that, but now he would have the chance to save Fred's life, maybe Dean's too. It sunk in, "I didn't, well not that me."

"Sure you did, woke me up in the middle of the night really excited about it. Wouldn't let me go back to sleep until I promised." Fred said easily, giving him a strange look.

George felt himself swallow thickly, "Fred, we went back in time. Muriel had a bracelet and when you hit us, it smashed and off we went."

Fred laughed, "I was hoping for an ear joke." Then upon seeing his face, "You're not kidding."

"Not at all, twin o' mine. Muriel claims she has to talk to Grindelwald." George put his face in his hands for a moment, wondering just what they'd gotten themselves into this time.

Fred was elated though, "How far back? This means we can save Hermione from getting tortured!"

George's stomach dropped even lower, maybe they could, maybe they couldn't, maybe they shouldn't. If those three never went to the Manor, Luna and Mr. Ollivander would still be prisoners and Dean would be in Azkaban. If they notified the Order and they stormed the Manor who else would get hurt in that battle? Would they lose more than just Dobby? His words were slow. "I don't know, Fred. I don't know far back we came. Haven't had time to find out."

"Guess we've got it now. George, how would you feel about having that payphone decorate the shop once we reopen? I took it from the visitor's entrance at the Ministry and am rather fond of it at the moment." Fred tried to lighten his mood.

It worked, Fred always could make him laugh, "I think it'll be an excellent addition. We should nick the mannequin too."

"Yes, yes. You know, I didn't see her dulcet eyes observing me, perhaps we can squeeze in a date with her in over the next however many days."

"I do admire your bold tastes in women, brother." George told him, reaching out squeeze his shoulder and see if he was bleeding. "How are you feeling now?"

"My stomach is still churning from the spinning. I think Dolohov was trying to hit me with what he got Hermione with when Sirius died, but I'd confounded him. Want to fix my broken wrist?" Fred told him, still merry despite his near death.

There was a crack and Muriel was back holding a large box of potions, she didn't look particularly happy with herself. "Scoot, George. Let's take a better look at you, Freddie."

George scooted, eyeing the potions, but it was Fred who asked her. "Muriel….did you just rob a hospital?"

"I wouldn't phrase it like that. My wand still has healer access there and I simply ordered several potions from the potions master for a trauma patient, which he gave me, I just didn't specify which ward you were in." Her wand started to wave over him and she passed him one, "That should help un-fuse your ribs." She smiled at them, "I'm very glad the two of you were terrible at learning hide and seek as children. My competitive little Charlie would get very frustrated because you two would always just immediately run to the other, not having to look."

Fred grinned at her, "We got to play as a team and Charlie would always pick you for his to keep it fair."

She passed him another potion and gave a misty smile, "I used to give him cake in the pantry while we hid."

"Aunt Muriel, are you ok? Need another sip?"

"No, Georgie, I'm fine. Just remembering when I had all of you and your uncles end up in the pantry, while your Mum and baby Ron looked. It was one of the last times I saw them, Fab had saved her the last piece and Gid took the baby so she could eat it and laugh with all of us. It was such a lovely day." She shook it off, "Then it got exhausting when the five you became hyper and Bill and Charlie tried to transfigure Percy into more cake to eat with a stolen wand."

Fred laughed and immediately grasped at his side, "Is that when Percy's hair got turned into icing?"

"Bill still calls him carrot cake when he talks trash in quidditch." George snickered.

"Yes, rather a mess. George, did you tell him?" Muriel asked, passing George a paper and Fred another potion. "That one will taste awful."

George nodded and glanced at the date. "Aunt Muriel… this is the day he died. Once Fred is ready we've got to get going, especially as I'm still not entirely sure how we're going to break into Nurmengard."

"I can go by myself." She said, then promptly fixed Fred's wrist. "If you're worried go rent us this room and, go scope it out while I finish him up."

George nodded and stood, squeezing Fred's shoulder again, he didn't like this, but they were here and that meant he would get to save Fred's life. Fred's voice stopped him, "George, be careful."

He left with a wave and when he got there would discover you could walk right in and there sat a friendly witch behind a counter. "Welcome to Nurmengard. Are you here to talk with Gellert?"

"What? He can have visitors?" George was completely startled at the concept of people wanting to chat with someone who used to be known as the darkest wizard.

She nodded, "Oh yes, the families of his victims requested to be able to speak with him. The government agreed it would help us never forget what he's done and perhaps rehabilitate him. There's also a history tour you can take."

Well this was going to be much easier than he thought and Fred was going to be disappointed that they wouldn't get to say they broke in.

* * *

******************* (Start of M: Skip to more stars if this isn't your cuppa)***********************

Bill was utterly struggling at the dinner table, torn by the need to flee at the way Hermione's tongue would slip along the bottom side of a baby carrot before she bit it off her fork and completely needing to stay because Ron and Harry were there and he needed her to eat a few more bites. He was only halfway through his steak when she nibbled on her lip in thought at something Harry had said and he broke and fled. "I think I heard something outside."

Out the back door, shirt tossed aside. He would swim it off and stop thinking about what he wanted her mouth to be doing. She had followed him and he paused, "Bill?"

"Don't do the stairs by yourself." He found himself rushing back, drawn, to help her tentative weight on her leg to not cause her to stumble.

She ignored him, tried anyway, bobbled unsteadily and he steadied her from a lower step. "Whoops."

She used the decreased discrepancy in their heights to lean in and kiss him desperately, biting him slightly as her smell engulfed him, her fingers winding into his ponytail to keep him at her lips. He knew he made a noise of defeat as he pulled her closer, there had been a reason not to kiss her earlier. Something for her, but this aggression was what he craved. He maneuvered her back against the house, her lips sliding to nibble at his ear and nip at the stubble on his jaw. He braced his arms on either side of her, pinning her in his little cage as he captured her in a deep kiss. She made a small noise and her hands started to roam his chest and shoulders, yes, this was what he wanted. This was what he craved, tongues battling, her hands all over him.

Her hand slowly slid lower, slipping between them to tentatively grasp his bulge and he groaned into her mouth, one of his own hands sliding higher up her side and jumped back from her with a curse as his thumb suddenly burst into feeling like needles of fire were jabbing him. He took a shaky breath and looked away, putting more physical distance between them as he backed up. "Bad Hermione."

"It's by the rules." She told him. "You said I couldn't get you riled up, but you already are."

He didn't look back at her, instead choosing to lean his arm against the house and his forehead against it, trying to control his breathing. "No. You're not supposed to do that."

"At least let me take care of it for you, you know in real life, since I'm stuck getting sex education lessons from your filthy mind. I might as well take my practical exam." She sounded annoyed.

He was utterly astounded at the words coming out of her mouth and glanced back to see she was blushing. She too was overwhelmed with this. "You want to see my pecker?"

"No, I want to try kissing it." He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, she sounded frustrated and confused, "I don't even know what I'm eating for dinner because all you can think about is my mouth on it and you keep accidentally shoving it into my brain."

"I'm sorry, you nibble your lips." He ground out and heard her move towards him and he turned away again. "I'm serious about this Hermione. Even if you were okay with anything-"

"I am okay.-" She cut him off.

"Well, I'm not." Her hurt flashed down at him and he felt that surge away some of their lust. He lowered his voice, "Hermione, I don't know if I could stop if I started touching you and I'm afraid I'll hurt you. I'm not okay with that."

She was silent for a long moment, some of her hurt changing to compassion at the tightness in his voice. "Hurt me?"

"You're still physically healing and I've never been this overwhelmed by the moon before." He hated having to say it for her, hated not knowing this part of his moon time. "I don't think I could be gentle even if I tried. Not the first time." That urge to utterly claim every part of her was throbbing in him like fire, he couldn't tell if he let it spark he would still be Bill Weasley or just a wildfire. He knew she was peeking at the edges, seeing the rough image of him taking her right against the wall he was leaning on.

She pressed into his back, her arms tentatively wrapping around him. "I'm sorry, Bill. I didn't-"

"-I should have been honest about all of my reasons earlier." He cut her off, why hadn't he just been a little more frank earlier. 'Hey, love, now that I've heard you moan and saw you have your first orgasm, I need to know you're mine and every future one will belong to me too. So, if we let me touch you again I'm afraid I'll take your virginity by fucking your brains out and you'll hate me for it.'

One of her hands started to slide lower almost against her will and Bill reached down into his pocket and grabbed his wand, snapping and simply hexed her hands with the same stinging jinx he had. She gave an outraged sound as she hit the region she couldn't touch, "You hexed me!"

"Yes, and myself earlier. We're going to have Ron and Harry chaperone us. Ron asked that we keep the PDA to a minimum so it'll be perfect because I really want him to be comfortable with us." He tried for logic, ok with her anger, this was much a better option than hurting her.

***********************(end smoochies and back to your regularly scheduled programming)**************

"You can't just hex me! Give me the wand." She hit him in the back and tried to grab for it, he held it up out of her reach. Another hit into his back and several more as she started to shriek angrily at him that it was unfair and barbarian.

The back door opened and there were Ron and Harry, "Everything ok?"

"No! Bill's an utter prat and hexed my hands! Hex him or give me your wand." She was still whacking his back with her little fists.

Ron let out a delighted laugh, "I told you so."

"Shut up and give me your wand, Ronald."

Bill cut in to actually answer Harry's question, "We need to be back under moon chaperone. We're bunking with you two tonight."

"No, we are not. I am not sleeping in a bunk bed." She huffed although her hits were slowing down, completely embarrassed at the situation.

"Yes, you are." Bill told her firmly, turning around and letting her smack at his chest instead. "I've got a 5 am Order shift, so you'd get put in there then anyway. I'm not leaving you to sleep alone without a wand or anyone if you get a nightmare."

"Wand, Ronald." She glared at him fiercely, her anger spiking at him down the bond, his own need for her to just do what he was saying spiking back. "Bill, you don't get to order me about. How bloody dare you?"

"Bad move, mate." Ron threw in, still very amused. "She'll really start yelling now."

"Fine, love. Here are your options, you sleep in a bunk bed or you get to wake up alone stuck in a safety pyramid until Ron or Harry wakes up. Since I don't think they can break you out, you'll just have to sit there until I come home." He retied his ponytail, trying to calm down even though he was coming up on the bad loop. He needed her protected, he needed her safe, but he wanted her to feel loved too. He forcibly softened his tone, though he had to raise it in volume over her noises of outrage. "You know I can't help this right now, we talked about it in advance, yelling isn't going to change it. Tomorrow, I'll be back to normal and you can run roughshod over me."

She turned and headed for the house without another word. Harry following her in, voice drifting back as he tried to soothe her, "Hermione, you helped him make the posters. You were so good about this yesterday, telling me to just do what he wants."

"I'm sorry." He called after her, not particularly thinking it would do any good at the moment.

He shook his head in exasperation at Ron, "I'm going for a swim."

"What's moon chaperone?" Ron called back.

"Ask Harry." He called dropping into a jog, he needed the icy waves if he couldn't have her lips.

When he would go back in an hour later, he would immediately note that the kitchen poster would be missing with scorch marks and ash in its place and while she wouldn't smile at him, she was no longer trying to physically assault him. After an hour of the silent treatment she would come over from her game of gobstones and sit and watch him as he ran his wand over the box he'd been tasked with cracking open for the Order. Her first words were tentative, "What do you think is in it?"

"A bunch of apologies for whacking helpless people in the back and chest." It was said with a wink and she gave him a small glare in return, "I already was able to get one out." He pushed the paper over at her and let her read it as he went back to testing the curses. This was a nasty piece of work, perfect to take his aggression out on.

While she didn't smile at him, her lips did curve up at the paper. "Do you always make people translate your apologies?"

He smiled to himself, liking the idea. "For you I might."

Then he picked up the knife and cut his finger, "Step back, love."

She got up and moved away and he let a single drop of blood hit the joining of three specific runes and it sizzled and fizzed, the box opening away. He murmured to himself, "At least it took human blood."

Bill would eye it, knowing it wasn't really open yet, send Hermione to the living room and look up only at the appearance of a joyful exclamation of "Tonks had the baby! It's a boy!"

Sometime during the small celebration, what he'd just done with the box would click into place in his mind and he would run to grab the abandoned translation he'd been working on when they'd all arrived at Shell, grab the others and lay them out. He'd sit there on the floor of his room writing furiously, testing and testing again. He rearranged them and he knew she'd come in and was watching him, but he was so close. There. There it was! The pattern, the code.

He whooped in triumph, jumping up and turning to his concerned watcher who'd snuck in. He grabbed her in a twirl, kissing her hard. "I've got to get to Headquarters and see the last intercept."

He carried her down the stairs caveman style, grinning madly, shoved her between Harry and Ron and roughly grabbed Remus into a hug. "Remus, you've got a son and I think we've got the intercept code! I know you've got more people to tell, but stay with these three until I can send someone to guard?"

"Guard? We don't need a guard." Ron started and Bill ignored him, Remus could explain it later.

"You broke it?" Remus would ask in excitement, his day only getting better. It didn't matter that he was exhausted from the night before.

"It's the lunar cycle! If you read the runes in order of the phase of the moon they're associated with it makes perfect sense." He hugged his mentor again at the look on his face, a curse a blessing tonight. "We're the only two Order members who would ever look at it that way."

He turned back, "Do you want a safety pyramid or a bunk bed, love?"

Her mouth pinched, but was not outraged or begrudging, "Bunk bed." She couldn't keep her tone and broke into a huge smile at him, her excitement flooding back at all the good news. "Get going, you extremely clever tosser."

He winked at her and took off at a run, still grinning like a fool, because his moon times would shift the tides of war.

* * *

Ginny opened the door at the first soft knock, despite the extremely late hour. Her father would be standing there, he frowned at her sympathetically, "Can't sleep?"

"Dad, what's wrong?" It was the first question out of her lips these days as she shook her head, she saw so little of her father due to his constant missions.

"Nothing," He entered the room, looking tired. "Just a little short staffed is all."

"I could help." She offered earnestly, hands gesturing and that new jarring jingle going with it, hadn't she proved herself already against Death Eaters?

He eyed her thoughtfully, eyes taking in the bracelet, before nodding, "Part of why I'm here, Ginny. Who's the bracelet from? One of Muriel's? You know she doesn't like it when you borrow her jewelry without asking."

She felt herself blush and fought the urge to hide her arm behind her back like a guilty child, "Ralph," hastily she amended it, "and Charlie and Bill. They-," _he,_ "-made me a full muggle identity, just in case. Since he had to go to London he gave it to me early." Her last words came out in a rush.

Her father's smile was slightly sentimental and he shook his head, before getting excited at the prospect of her being an undercover muggle. "You'll have to show me all of it later. Perhaps it will come in handy, we need help with protection details after so many are out after last night's raids."

"What about my underage trace? We thought it might have gone Taboo." She asked, though she was bouncing forward on her toes.

"You don't have a trace anymore. Kingsley confirmed it, the department head of Underage Magic is an Order sympathizer and Potterwatch listener. He removed your trace by shifting your birthday five months up in the system. Happy early birthday, we'll have to throw you a party." His joke was bad.

"Will he get in trouble?" Ginny asked worriedly, she'd already dragged enough people into danger with the dragons. She followed her father down into the basement and into what had become a war room of sorts. Walls covered in ever changing mission schedules, assignments listed under each member's alias, information scrolling from the tracking spells they'd left at the Ministry. She looked at what had once been Dumbledore's masterpiece of information gathering and coordination and felt bad for hers words to Harry.

Her dad shook his head and rubbed one of his tired shoulders, "No, it looks like an innocent enough mistake and I doubt they'll double check, they still believe he's under the Imperious Curse." His voice took on the familiar stern tone, "Ginny, if you do this, I need to ask you to be extremely careful. No, reckless dragon stealing or running towards danger. Your job is to protect and get them safely away."

She wanted to mutter it was just once, but didn't. Instead she was serious when she said, "I will, I already put two other people in danger. I understand that."

"Good. Now, it's mainly Order families we're having to watch at the moment." He looked thoughtfully at her bracelet, "We're adding a new family in tomorrow. Charlie was going to be a lead on it, but he'll need to stay until the dragon lays her eggs, before he can take a heavier role away from the dragons. They're also close to Andromeda's, but she wants to spend a few days with the baby and helping Tonks and Remus adjust."

"Charlie banned me from the dragons, otherwise I could help there." Ginny started, then just who this family was crystallized. "The Robinsons?" Guilt flooded her and it was a statement, not a question. "They found out it was Ralph on the other dragon."

"Yes, don't look like that, Ginny. Either way we would have had to since he's taken the job at the muggle Ministry. He's told them they'll be under discreet surveillance, but his parents would still like to meet the individuals so they're not always looking over their shoulders trying to guess who." He took off his glasses and wiped them, "Charlie was just going to stay with them or his brother." Her father sounded completely exasperated as he sat down, "His brother requested female guards, something about it easier to pass off as a date if it came to it. Charlie called bollocks on it, one of his life goals is to have a magical girlfriend, so you're not going there despite Ryan being a lower risk target. They've yet to attack any of the muggle military bases, but we've had to reassign Holly to him."

Ginny couldn't stop herself from laughing, how utterly ridiculous to be told your life is in danger and use it to try and meet a bird. Hadn't he written her once that his brother was a mix of Percy's rule abiding ways and the twins love of goofing around and merry outlook? Something about her father's words clicked and her offer was tentative, "I could… well if they wanted Charlie to stay, couldn't I be passed off as a visiting girlfriend getting to know his parents for a few days until Charlie or Mrs. Tonks is ready? I've got my muggle identity and everything." He looked thoughtful and she added, "Just like how Bill brought Fleur when he went to Spain and left her with us for a week?" She'd pinched Ron so many times he had bruises to get him to stop being a fool and had united quickly with her mother in dislike after Fleur commented on how her quidditch callouses ruined her hands.

"Only if you're comfortable with that, Gin. Him and his family too. We can also rotate someone off of watching the Jordans, if you'd prefer to not watch the Robinsons. Might be safer for you, given no action has been taken against them." Her father looked worried.

"I got him into the mess, he wouldn't have been able to take the job if I hadn't taken a dragon. I should be the one responsible for his family." She told him firmly, closing the case in her eyes and seeing it was closed as a new row for 'Easter' popped up on the wall under 'Watchers in Rotation'.

He still looked worried, "Perhaps we can pull either Mr. Ollivander or Luna in. Do you think Luna would want to help?"

"Very much so, but…" Ginny started and while she and Luna were friends, she had earned the nickname 'Loony' for a reason. "I think Luna might be a little overwhelming for a non-magical family if they want to meet their watchers. She'd be great on a discreet rotation, she learned a lot in the DA."

"I'll send word, then." He eyed the schedule on the war room wall of the various safe houses. Then he pulled his wand and sent two patronuses off as she eyed Bill's column.

Egypt

Status: Written work only, medical reasons

Active Missions: Lead protection detail on Lemon Drops, Lead all cursed objects (if unavailable, Dung), Lead Codebreaking team, Translation of intercepts (Arabic, French, Italian, Runes), Secondary werewolf envoy, Secret-Keeper of unknown, etc.

It went on, but she looked away as a Clydesdale stallion appeared at a gallop. "They're delighted to have Ginny stay. Train station in Honley at 8:15, track 3, Mum will be there."

It galloped once around her before disappearing, "Dad, has Ralph's patronus always been a horse?"

"I believe so. Why?" Her dad was distracted.

"No reason." She was thinking of how Tonks' patronus had changed for Remus and whether his might have done the same. Now she would wonder if perhaps hers had taken that shape for a reason. She'd once thought it was because Harry also had a similar large animal. Oh, this was going to break her brain if she tried to read anything into it. They'd left it at goodbye when he headed for London.

"Go up and get packed, try and get some sleep." Her dad told her, squeezing her shoulder lightly. So Ginny went to prepare to go muggle once again.

* * *

She couldn't fall back asleep, an exhausted Bill had woken her trying to shove his large frame next to her on the small bunk bed, dislodging a disgruntled Crookshanks. She'd gotten too used to not having to sleep with Ron's snores and Harry's mumbles, just the comforting warmth of Bill. Hermione went down the stairs, pleased her leg seemed steadier today and not as sore from yesterday as she'd thought it might be. She wasn't expecting anyone else to be up given the early hour and certainly not expecting to see Fleur sitting comfortably, sipping from a mug with a large array of pastries beautifully laid out across the table. She looked up at Hermione's startled squeak and smiled, her French throaty. "I didn't mean to scare you, 'Ermione, but it was early so I just let myself in."

"It's okay. Good morning." Hermione managed back, utterly confused, she was going to ask what she was doing there, but Fleur was already talking again. She and Fleur had always in spoken in her native tongue, not only did it keep her French fresh, but it took away the accented English that drove Ginny crazy.

"There's coffee on the stove and I brought pastries from Paris." She gestured with one graceful, swanlike arm.

"Thank you, I do love Parisian croissants." She poured herself a cup and went to sit across from her at the table, "What brings you" - she stopped herself from saying _here_ possessively, "back to England?"

"We'd like to learn Beel's dual casting method for our safehouses, possibly even the Veela reserve if he thinks it can hold the distance." She smiled again, "I also need to borrow some of his books, he has such a large collection."

Hermione nodded in agreement, glad there were other people who appreciated it, "He's practically got his own library."

Fleur's beautiful eyes raked over Hermione appraisingly. "You seem to be healing up from when Beel wrote. You're using my extra conditioner, non?"

Hermione gave another small blush and nodded, well this wasn't awkward. "I'm sorry, I can't exactly go to the store. I know it's expensive and I'd be-"

Fleur waved the apology away, "Keep using it, your hair looks much less bushy. I'll send more over." She sighed, "I never could get Beel to use any conditioner. I was 'orrified the first time I saw him just wash his hair with a bar of soap."

While Hermione knew Bill and Fleur had been engaged, she still didn't particularly want to hear about their showering habits as a couple. It made her uncomfortable and something very much like jealousy twisted in her stomach. Bill's stupid gentleman courtship stance apparently hadn't applied to gorgeous Fleur. "I think men are just like that."

Fleur nodded, her voice speculative as she looked Hermione up and down. "I managed to get him to use shampoo." She nodded to herself, "I think you'll be good for him." Her laugh was throaty, "I certainly wasn't, don't make the mistake I did of trying to change him."

This wasn't exactly a conversation she wanted to be having with the woman he'd wanted to marry. Hermione happened to think Bill was pretty darn perfect just as he was, she knew she sounded defensive when she asked. "What exactly were you trying to change?"

She laughed again, 'You'll see." Then she tilted her head, sending her moonlight hair over one shoulder, "I was very jealous of you when we were together. I'd worked so very hard to get Beel and I remembered you from the tournament."

"Me?" This startled her, a girl that looked like Fleur was jealous over her couldn't even be possible.

"Oui, don't be so surprised, mon cherie. I wanted Viktor at first and he was smitten with you. Then Beel stood me up to get onto the Hogwarts rotation. He tried to tell me it was because of his siblings, but I found a letter that had come from you that day with tear marks on it. I burned the letter and was smashing things in his flat when he got back." She seemed completely unfazed by her behavior, as if going into a rage was a completely normal way to handle finding a letter from his little brother's friend. Ginny must have been right when she'd said Fleur was crazy jealous.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. I don't even remember writing the letter." Hermione told her, crumbling her pastry in nervousness. She truly didn't, it must have been when she was crying over Ron and asking everyone to recommend books for her to read. Charlie had certainly recommended some colorful and inappropriate choices.

Fleur shrugged, "Not your fault and he got what was coming for him when he tackled the werewolf to protect you. I guess I got what was coming to me for forcing his hand the entire way we were together. I got stuck latched with him after, knowing he'd done it to save another girl. Beel was a complete poltergeist to me." She made a sound of derision, "His awful mother hovering constantly. Life is very odd, sometimes, non?"

Hermione sat there completely stunned, so completely shocked she felt the magic jolt along the bond. Her words were slow and spaced as she wrapped her brain around it, wrapping her arms around herself to clutch at the shock. "He got mauled because of me?"

"Oui." Fleur pushed her hair back over her shoulder, her wedding bands glinting and somehow that was all Hermione could focus on. The sparkle from rings that should have been from Bill, but she'd gotten him mauled. The guilt began to rush her, flooding her mind and filling her veins, pulsing with the frantic steps thumping down the stairs.

"Hermione? Love? Is everything ok?" Bill skidded into the kitchen, just in his briefs with his wand out. He must have been too tired to even put on his pajama bottoms.

Hermione turned to him, still slightly in shock and feeling incredibly guilty. Her voice was anguished, "Bill, why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" He asked in sleepy confusion, his hair loose, ink stains on his unscarred cheek.

"That your scars are all my fault." She could feel tears threatening, she could never make this up to him. She'd gotten him mauled, made him take care of her and then broken his brain.

"Dammit, Fleur." Bill said, turning to his ex. "I didn't want her to know." His tone was firm, "You better not be meddling."

"I thought she knew, Beel." She protested, standing to go kiss each of his cheeks.

Bill froze and Hermione felt his surprise jolt the magic in the same way hers had just done. He stared at Fleur, eyes raking her. "Is it mine?"

Confused she looked at Fleur, who upon standing had the beginnings of a small baby bump on her thin frame. Fleur shook her head, "No, Beel."

"How can you be sure? When?" Bill was firing questions at her and Hermione felt the sting of realization of what it meant, her stomach twisting into knots. She opted to flee the kitchen, grabbing a robe from the hook at random and headed for the beach, thoughts swirling in a mix of indignation, hurt and guilt. Bill, who wouldn't touch her with the excuse of wanting to do things right had not only slept with his ex, but kept doing it after they broke up. The only time he'd made any indication of wanting to do anything more than kiss her was during the moon. The only times he'd shown any real fire was when she'd been upset about something, the rest of the time he was so gentle and controlled.

Their argument was carrying to her, Fleur screaming at Bill that she'd done the spell and it wasn't his, Bill furious that she'd slept with him, gotten pregnant around that time and not bothered to tell him in their letters. Fleur telling Bill that since he'd gotten himself mauled, for _her_ , he couldn't put a baby in part-Veela if he tried, only thing he was good for now was a good shag.

She kept walking faster down the beach, not wanting to hear any more of it. She could feel Bill's intense fury at the edge of her brain. She'd never made him that passionate, never felt his mind be so ringed with emotion. Maybe that was the problem? She was too boring for a guy like Bill, she didn't have Fleur's beauty or passionate personality, couldn't bring that side out of him. She looked down at the finally scabbed word on her arm and remembered how graceful and unblemished Fleur's arms were as she gestured while she spoke. Bill wanted that, was attracted to that, not her scarred skin and unremarkable figure. She could feel it happening to him even now, a sudden urge as Fleur's veela nature came to the forefront of their argument. She knew that urge. Had felt it surge through them both during the moon, the dual attraction bouncing back and forth between them across the latch and escalating until it was pure unrestrained fire. Except now she saw it was just moonfire.

She walked farther, trying to push it all away and behind her. The thought popping through that he wanted it to be his and was going to damn well double check it wasn't, couldn't escape soft brushing of their minds at the edges. Tears stung her eyes, she was going to have kink the stupid latch. Bill still loved Fleur, the aching realization echoed around her brain. He could say whatever he wanted about his feelings for herself and when they started, but it was all the latches' fault. He'd said himself he wouldn't have ever said anything otherwise. Once he could be back out in the real world, out of hiding, he'd come to his senses and go back to dating beautiful, exotic women who made him feel that passion naturally. How could he want her? The stupid little girl who he'd gotten mauled protecting because she wasn't watching her back. The stupid girl who was the reason he would have to have his time of the month for the rest of his life. The stupid girl who broke his brain and turned his life upside down.

They were fighting about her now and Fleur was in tears, accusing him about his feelings while they were together and he was flinging back equally as hurtful accusations. If she were objective she might be able to realize they were rehashing old arguments, fighting just to fight and win at this point. She wasn't, instead she was mortified and trying to get it out of her brain.

So intensely focused on her inner turmoil and trying to kink the latch, she didn't notice when she walked out past the wards, completely wandless.

She noticed when there was rough, delighted laugh. "Hullo, girly."

Her terror froze her to the spot and killed the scream her mouth had opened to give and he gave her his rotted bloody smile, tossing aside what looked very much a human heart and a paint brush.

She unfroze and tried to run and he grabbed her casually, hands digging into her shoulders and yanking her backwards into his chest with enough force she felt her clavicles snap. He wrapped one arm around her the other stroking her face, "Such soft skin, my pet."

He didn't twist immediately and she started to whimper as he smelled her hair, and pushed up her sleeve to see her forearm. Greyback gave a satisfied wolfish whimper, his voice filling with anticipation. "His smell is all over you. I want him to see."

She didn't know her terrified squeaks were echoing around the cove, leading them even if Bill hadn't had the latch. Bill would break the wards, Ron hot behind him, and make it just close enough for her to see the rage on his face as she was twisted away.

* * *

A/N: So that's our cliffhanger for today! As always, leave those reviews with the wonderful feedback of what/who is or isn't working for you, loves.


	18. Healing and Dealing

A/N: Another long one to make up for the teensy little cliffhanger. Also, 'The Counter' has another chapter up if you're looking for the smooches. This chapter is a bit darker.

Narrators: Hermione, Muriel, Ginny

* * *

Healing and Dealing

She would flicker into consciousness at the voices, unable to open her eyes yet, they felt so heavy.

"Move, Ron."

"No, Bill. You're terrifying right now and she'll freak."

The sound of someone being slammed into the ground and Bill's utter outrage. "Unfreeze me."

Professor Lupin's voice. "Ron's right, Bill. You're covered in blood. Do you want her to see you looking like this?"

"It's not my blood." He snapped. "I need to see her. I need to be near her."

"Bill. Bill." She would manage to mumble, tug and flicker out, whoever was holding her hand letting go and rushing away.

….

When she could open her eyes, she blinked, pushing down the sudden dizziness and fear. She turned her head to find a partial privacy curtain with Mrs. Weasley bent over at the side with dragon hide gloves visible as her arms furiously scrubbed something, Bill's hand clutching hers around it. "Keep your eyes shut while I finish your face, Bill, you don't want any of it to get in and infect you. Sorry, Remus."

"I wouldn't wish it on anyone, Molly. If you'd like I'll handle getting him completely clean and healed." The mild response.

"No, he's my son." It was adamant. Strange pops seemed to be sounding and she watched as bloody bits of something flew above the curtain, it was vaguely familiar. She'd heard those pops before, heard those when she'd come to in Bill's bedroom. Nobody had noticed she'd woken up, Remus' voice apologetic, "Bill, I'm going to have to cut it. At least the bottom half."

"Fine. Mum will be happy."

"Don't talk, Bill. You'll get it in your mouth." His mother scolding, Charlie only adding to the noise. "Shut up, Bill. What the hell did you do to your toe?"

Hermione squeezed his hand, pulling words out and hearing how hoarse her voice was. That's right, she'd been screaming. "What happened?"

There would be silence on the other side of the curtain for a long beat, the sound of gloves being pulled off and Mrs. Weasley's concerned face appeared, a kerchief shoved down around her neck. "You were taken, dear. How are you feeling?"

"To Malfoy Manor." She said, feeling the edges of potions ringing her brain fogging it, everything seemed to just hurt. "Then there was Bill."

"Love-" It was a cry of strangled anguish, his hand clenching hers unbearably hard. "It's all my fault."

She heard someone restrain him and an image drifted into her brain from the edges of his. Her shrieks of pain and terror, twitching as Fenrir Greyback licked her cheek, his wand flashing sending Greyback off of her, a screamed curse and explosion of blood from the werewolf, Bill''s command as he jumped over her 'Ron, grab her and go.'

Her mind really was refusing to work and she clenched his hand back, "My fault, got upset over you hoping Fleur's baby is yours."

"William Arthur Weasley!" It was a complete shriek from his mother and Hermione tried to cover her ears, only to find she couldn't move her arms very much. Mrs. Weasley's face disappeared behind the curtain and the air cracked with resounding sound of a slap hitting a cheek.

"Molly…" Remus tried to intervene. "Mum." Ron tried.

Tears started to run down her cheeks, she wanted the safety of Bill's arms. She wanted hers to be able to move, not the sudden flash of having her shoulders broken as he pushed them out of joint. Focus on the baby. "You were ok sleeping with her, but refuse to touch me like that." Her voice broke with self loathing, "Only a monster would want me." It completely shattered, "Did he?"

More sounds of restraint came and Bill's voice was thick, "No, love. I'd never let that happen." His voice broke and she couldn't understand what he was trying to say, only able to catch the words 'fucking tosser' on repeat. Ron's head popped up with a kerchief tied around his nose and mouth, "You're fine, Hermione. He was just sort of sniffing at you and whimpering."

Then Ron would disappear at the sound of someone being dunked into water and thrashing about it. Professor Lupin again, "Bill, let us get you clean, then you can go to her. I'll heal you there. Still no stinging in your blood?"

"No. Let me go." Bill's frustrated voice. "Love, I'm coming. I'm going to hex them."

"I took his wand." Charlie's voice called, "Stay still, you prat, so I can set your ankle."

The sound of a kick and Charlie choking. "Holy fuck."

Hermione laid there, waiting, listening to Mrs. Weasley scold Charlie on his language and the cracking sound of a reset bone. Another kick resulting in another curse.

Mrs. Weasley came back out after a time and started wiping at Hermione's tears, her face haggard with concern and her own fluttering lashes. "Don't worry, dear. Bill's fine, just a little too much energy." She sniffled, "He and Ron were right behind you." She patted her and Bill's still clasped hands, "Don't you worry, now, Bill took care of everything."

"I want to know what happened." She protested.

Charlie's voice, "Drop your briefs, you bloody fucker. Seriously did you roll around in it?"

"Charlie!" Mrs. Weasley scolded before turning her attention, back to Hermione and shifting up her robe. "This should help you rest." Mrs. Weasley told her as a sharp sting went into her flesh.

Charlie's voice drifted back as she waited for the drug to hit, "Mum, unless you want to be the one checking Bill's privates for werewolf blood stay the bloody hell out of it. Ron how's his back coming?"

"Don't speak to Mum like that." He squeezed her hand again, his thumb stroking the back of her hand, "It's ok, love, I'm here. Even if they won't let me be bloody there. Don't touch, Charlie!"

"Almost all the shrapnel is out." Ron, struggling sounds. "Bill, if you'd stop being a twitchy little shit, you'd be clean."

"Ronald!" Mrs. Weasley.

"Ron's right." Charlie, "Stop trying to get away, you fucker. I don't like this view either." The sound of impact, "Dammit, Bill, stop kicking me."

Professor Lupin, "Boys, cursing at him isn't helping."

"You don't have brothers." Charlie. "Fuck it, give me the needle Mum."

"I don't want a calm down shot." More thrashing about and he let go of her hand to aid his attempt to gain freedom.

"Then calm down." Professor Lupin tried to soothe, "You're not fighting any more."

"Bill!" It was almost a wail, "What's wrong with your back?"

There was a sound of impact and a curse from Ron and then his hand came back out, looking for hers. He sounded slightly calmer after hitting. "Just some presents from the mine I threw. Don't fret, love." She saw it at the edges, the three other men coming for their alpha and Bill just sending sand flying and mines at them. She pulled away, not wanting to see the rest and leaned into Mrs. Weasley's gentle embrace, sipping at the straw Mrs. Weasley was holding there. Her hand passing the needle back.

"Bill stop fucking trying to fight us and let us get you clean." Charlie.

"You're in my way." He sounded angry, "She wants me with her." More thrashing, "I don't want the shot. Don't do it."

"Just stab him with it Ron." Charlie issuing orders. A wild hex flew above the curtain. "Dammit, Ron. You let him get your wand."

She heard him being disarmed and leaned further into Mrs. Weasley who was fidgeting with wanting to help.

Her tongue felt thick in her mouth now, "Bill. Hold."

She struggled against the drug, hearing him dunked again and kept trying to repeat herself until his arms were around her. It seemed like a very long time until she got to feel his scars under her cheek, thrumming with his heartbeat, allowed her to let go into the drift.

…..

When she woke next she felt like herself and managed to shift under the arm clenched around her to look up at Bill. He looked different now, a new harshness in his sleeping face that hadn't been there before, as if he would never smile again. It was only highlighted by his shorn hair, the hair she'd so loved to run her fingers through almost completely gone. She knew if she'd met him like that she still would have found him attractive, but now it just looked foreign, it wasn't Bill.

He grimaced and his eyes snapped open as she tried to sit up, they were still the same ocean shade as the tide they'd watch go out together, washing her hurt her away. Yet they were different, now Bill's eyes were the dangerous part of the sea, the waves Harry had almost drowned in, the ocean that swallowed sailors. Her voice was tentative, "Bill?"

"How are you feeling?" His timbre was anxious, but resigned to a horrible answer.

"Like myself." She told him and meant it. She was sore, but she wasn't terrified or in pain, some of the horrors were gone from her. "What happened? I panicked myself into passing out and the rest is just flashes."

She opted not to mention one of the flashes was being slapped back awake and being hit with the crucio to hear her 'pretty screams'.

Bill's jaw clenched as those stormy eyes searched her face, "That was probably my fault. I felt your terror and took off running, Ron on my heels. He had the deluminator on him and was able to find you," His arm tightened around her, "It was the longest five minutes of my life."

Hermione realized she didn't have to say what happened to Bill, he'd been there at the edges already. Her voice was soft, "Was it you or I that threw up?"

"Me. I was panicking too." Bill told her, then his eyes tightened and he looked up at the ceiling and she tested the edge, his insides were churning like a whirlpool. "He won't come after you again or bite another child. None of them will."

For some reason she felt like Bill needed to say it to deal with it, or maybe she needed to hear it to heal. "He's dead?"

Bill's jaw clenched again and his hand went to where he normally would retie his ponytail when trying to compose himself, finding nothing. Instead he sat up, shifting her off of him and looked away, leaning on his knees. Every single muscle he had seemed to be taut, the scars she barely saw now strikingly vivid across his back. She forced herself to sit up and gently kiss one harsh mark, trying to tell him it was ok, she wished her arms weren't strapped to her so she could hug him. She settled for pressing her face against his back and waiting. His words were clinically cold. "If Remus went back to do it he is, if not there's no way he could survive his injuries. So yes."

Hermione wanted to ask if Bill couldn't do it, but the way he was acting, stilled her words. Sensing her question, he turned to meet her eyes and she saw the existential hurricane reflected in them. "He asked me to finish it. I didn't, I broke his wand and left him for an excruciating death." She swallowed and he didn't even blink, "When asked, I chose not to give mercy. Who's the bigger monster now?"

His eyes tore from hers, not wanting to see her reaction. She could try and reassure him that Fenrir Greyback's deeds, his choices to fully embrace the werewolf even as his family didn't abandon him, even as he had a private tutor and held a job at the family business, made him worse. She could count the children he'd bitten for the army he was trying to build, count the others he'd simply killed. She could even tug at his heartstrings that he, Remus and herself were all forever altered from their brief encounters with the man. She didn't choose any of those things, for Bill right now they would be protests, empty justifications and sour platitudes. Instead she leaned over and offered him the truth, her lips that told him she loved him all the same, that she'd be there as he worked through this startling revelation into his personality, into the depths he viewed as his darkness.

His responding kiss had a desperation about it as he bit at her lips, a need for reassurance that she was ok and he would be. She would suckle his bottom lip in response, giving and taking as she crawled over to straddle him. They needed to feel something real, something not ugly or forced right now. Bill was cold with confusion and she needed to erase the fact another man had ripped her robes open to peer at her flesh, to whimper in delight at his handiwork of scars there. Bill would clutch her close, one hand undoing the bindings on her arms and the soreness of them would feel achingly intense as she clutched back at his shoulder. One of her hands would tug at his short locks as she suckled his neck and he would grasp her, pulling her more firmly onto his lap as he kissed over the spot on her face Fenrir had licked, no longer withholding the physical affection he'd been denying so far. She would bite his neck in response, still angry about Fleur and knowing she had no right to be, and would move experimentally back against him. She would feel the evidence he did have the passion she'd doubted for her, his lips apologizing at the edges of her neckline as he reverently explored her chest with his other hand. She let out a hoarse little moan at feeling of his calloused hand. They had begun a new dance now and it would be interrupted by a red faced Harry, who would back out of the room.

"Sorry! I, erm..well I knocked a few times. I"ll just tell everyone you're awake now, shall I?" He fled.

She smiled seeing one of them or both had grown his hair into a more shaggy cut with a magical flare and said the only thing that made sense at the moment. "Take me home."

It wouldn't be to the home of before, they couldn't go back there. Oh, physically the bedroom would still have the large bay window overlooking the sea and a wall with built in bookshelves. Her cat would still eat fish from the traps and happily scratch his back on the shells. Yet, this new home would be full of scars, of ragged lines of war cutting into their moments of peace and laughter. The man who cooked breakfast in swim trunks and winked at her as he subtly stirred debates between his siblings would be different, heavier. The woman whose fingers were stained with ink would be too, she'd be lighter by being near him. She'd finally wear short sleeves after catching him kiss her forearm when he thought she was asleep. They would heal, let the tide going out take the pain and the waves coming in bring hope and happiness.

* * *

Ginny checked her bag one last time, making sure she had her dossier and instructions packet on escape techniques and known threats. She smoothed her hair and the dress Tonks had wholeheartedly approved of when she'd gone to say goodbye to her and the baby. Kingsley's voice was firm as he reminded her again, "No, magic unless absolutely necessary. There aren't any magical families in the area and you don't want to attract attention or blips on the monitoring system."

She nodded at him before abruptly giving him a hug. She knew both her father and mother, who conveniently didn't know Ginny was in rotation yet, were off on London coverage. He squeezed her, "Be safe. Use the mirror if you need to get in touch and to update us every night, someone will be actively watching them between 4 and 5 and 8 and 9 pm."

"I will." And at 8:14 she twisted, focusing hard on the location and not landing on anyone. She glanced around the platform as the train came into station and joined the rush of people getting off, realizing she had no real recollection of what Mrs. Robinson looked like other than recalling she was very pretty. She let out a sigh of relief as the large familiar figure in a rugby sweater and denims broke off his conversation in the proper station. He grinned as he strode towards her, bending down to kiss her and take her bag. "Surprise."

"I thought your Mum was coming?" She pecked him back and let him slip her much smaller hand into his.

"She bluntly pointed out I wasn't allowed to come to Britain and not see her and if I was bringing home any girl, I was going to do it properly, not send her ahead like luggage." His voice told her he'd clearly gotten a thrashing over it.

"Sounds like my Mum." Ginny commiserated.

"Pretty similar, she's already causing a fuss over you. Be prepared." He squeezed her hand as they walked out, "Besides, it's more prudent if I show you the vulnerable places in the town and muggle you up a bit. She's planning on dragging you around on her social calls." He pecked her again, "Plus, everyone will want a glimpse of us together, since you'll be the talk of the town. Did you bring a gown? We've got some hall of fame dinner for my dad tonight." He winked, "I do hope you prefer quidditch players to rugby ones."

"No dress." Ginny tried not to groan, she didn't want to spend all of her time sitting in a parlor sipping tea with strangers, but this was what she'd signed up for and she really didn't want to go to some scary muggle dinner party. "I'm an excellent muggle, I"ll have you know. I've been on a plane."

He was still smiling as he unlocked the car and put her bag in the boot, "Yes and Tonks prepared you for that. Let me prepare you for the very scary muggle suburbia before we meet my mum for lunch, she's probably got something for you to wear. My dad said not to worry about watching him."

"But-" Ginny started.

Ralph shook his head, "You can only be in one place at a time and unless they're planning on completely breaking the Statue of Secrecy and storming the courtroom, he'll be fine. Besides, he can always just take the muggle security guard."

"That won't do any good." Ginny argued. "Wait, why do you have security guards?"

"No it won't, but we have one anyway because of my mum. Well dad too I guess." At her blank look he sighed and tucked her in the car, "Let's get out of the wind for a minute and I'll explain."

She waited, readjusting her coat and fake glasses. She rather liked how they looked, somehow it made her eyes seem bigger. He seemed rather embarrassed, "Ginny, you know how I told you my mum used to be in movies and that my dad used to be a pro athlete?"

She nodded, she and Hermione had gone to see movie once and she really wanted to see another one. "She doesn't work as often now, but she was rather famous in 70s and 80s here and in the states. She stopped working and we got security after an obsessed man broke into Ryan's and my room and it scared Mum really badly. It'll make protecting her a little harder because strangers come up to her and want her autograph sometimes."

"That's horrible. What happened? Are you ok?" Something in her clenched at the thought of anyone breaking into it a child's room.

"Sweetheart, I'm perfectly fine." He seemed amused at her very belated concern, "It was a little scary waking up to a strange man, but the paper made a big deal out of the fact a 6 and 7 year old held a grown man hostage for a few hours. Thankfully, they didn't mention magic was in play."

She grinned, it sounded like something Fred and George would do. "Why didn't you just go get your parents?"

"They were in London and the nanny had snuck out once we went to bed."

She shifted gears, she wanted more of that story later, but they only had so much time before she would be thrust into his family circle. "You said you needed to warn me about your dad? Why?"

"Just don't ask him if he's part giant, okay? He's adopted and never could find out anything on his birth family." Ralph's eyes were earnest.

"I may be blunt, but I'm not rude enough to walk around asking people if they're part giant, Ralph." Ginny scolded him, Ralph himself seemed to fill a doorway and towered over her despite the fact she wasn't short. "Is that why it took Bill and Charlie so many stunners to take you down during the dueling tournament last summer?"

He unlocked the door and got out and she followed suit, "Ginny, Charlie was trashed from trying to disprove Mundungus' never-empty flask so his aim was pot and Bill was too busy trying to flirt with your friend to really duel." He shrugged and locked the car, shoved the hair out of her face the wind had just blown into it and started walking again, pointing at something. "But maybe. Alright Miss Muggle, first stop is the cash machine over there. Try not to blow it up like your idiot brother."

He glanced around as they reached it and Ginny tugged on the little dollar charm, looking in interest at the little card she held. She did ok with his gentle instructions until the machine asked her a question. She flew backwards into his chest, already reaching for her wands. His hand were quicker, catching her arms and wrapping them around her waist. "Ginny, It's ok."

"No, it's not." She felt herself give a slight shudder and dropped her voice to a hiss, seeing muggles were looking at them. "It's _possessed._ " She shook again, "My diary wrote back to me, asked me questions. Then it possessed me." Shudder, "Then He tried to steal my soul."

He pulled her closer, his voice carrying regret as he soothed in her ear. "It's not like that, Ginny. It's a machine and it won't hurt you and it really doesn't want your soul. I promise." She felt herself calm slightly, the trembles going away at the firmness of being held, "It's just like talking to the goblins at Gringotts to get money from your vault. Just pretend there's a goblin in there."

"Okay." She still felt shaky, but she could pretend. She shook her hand free and pressed in the numbers he told her. He held her close, whispering the instructions and providing support.

A thought occurred to her, "So I have to come to this one every time? This is where your vault is?"

His chuckle tickled her ear, "No, any of them will do." He paused and his lips were so close to her ear she could tell he was pursing them in thought, "For muggles it's opposite, rather than you having to go to the vault, the vault comes to wherever you are."

"Ralphie Robinson finally got himself a bird." Ginny looked up to see a man about Ralph's age. Ralph let go of her, straightening up and hitting the button for the largest amount of cash.

"Yeah, yeah. How you been Ellis?" They shook hands and Ginny fetched out the cash from the little vault opening at the bottom, counting it carefully, before tucking it into the built in wallet in the purse Hermione had given her for Christmas one year. Ginny had never held so much money in her life, muggle or magical, and was rather afraid she would lose it or simply go crazy and spend it.

Abruptly she was pulled back into the conversation, Ralph's arm going back around her as he introduced her. She could feel Ellis eyes appraising her and didn't like it, pulling her hand back as soon as it was polite. When Ralph turned him down for pints, explaining about London she wasn't surprised when he eyed her again and invited her alone. She was glad she didn't have to decline, that Ralph did it with a laugh, "Let you lot tell her lies about me when I'm not there to defend myself? That'd be rich. We've got to pop off, Mum's anxious to get Ginny in her clutches."

Ginny gave one last smile and found him opening the car door for her. Once they were settled she said tentatively, "Do you have a lot of friends left here?" She asked as they headed for town.

"Not really, keeping in touch was hard enough when there were school breaks, Romania almost impossible. I was in my muggle Charlie's wedding though, but that's just because I got them together."

"How'd you do that?" She asked, eyeing the lovely countryside. Maybe Mrs. Robinson was a walker, oh but that would put them unprotected.

"I dumped her the summer before seventh year and told her to date him instead. I couldn't take another year of writing her letters that said nothing about my real life." He paused at the roundabout and gave her a sweet smile, "So you got letters full of it instead, you were so eager to hear about Hogwarts."

She smiled back, "They were half written by Charlie."

"Well, Charlie was pretty much glued to my side. He didn't want your Mum on his back for not writing to you two enough and he'd always forget."

"He never wrote Ron." Ginny said flatly. "Not that Ron cared."

"Ginny, can you drive?" He abruptly asked her as he turned into the downtown.

She thought about it, "I can steer, but I was too small when we still had the Ford Angelina to be able to do the pedals and clutch. I've seen people do it a lot though."

He parked the car. "Bollocks. We'll just start with showing you how to pay a parking meter. Come along, Miss Muggle."

* * *

Muriel took a deep breath, both of her hands squeezed by her escorts as the other door to the visiting room opened. Gellert Grindelwald had been destroyed by age and confinement, his face now sunken and wasted, no laugh lines to soften the ravages of age. His eyes alone were sharp and animated as he took in his visitors, settling himself behind the barrier. His greeting was in German and she responded, wondering if it would be a kindness for Fred and George to simply not understand what was being said. He didn't allow her the opportunity, switching adroitly to English, "Ah, a visitor. Do introduce me, Madame, to your companions?"

"These are my Great Nephews, Fred and George, of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes." George managed a polite nod and Fred simply glared, not bothering with any sort of nicety. She squeezed Fred's hand, if there was anytime for Fred to manage politeness it was now, he obliged, inclining his head the barest amount.

"We could get to know each other, or I can simply ask who it was. Your father? Your sister?" Gellert asked, almost looking bored with the proceeding. He waved his hand and tissues appeared at her elbow. They'd taken his wand, his dignity, his dreams, but they couldn't take his magic.

Her hackles rose and she forced them down, knowing he was doing this on purpose, knowing it had to be easier to pretend not to care that you'd spent almost twenty years murdering people and trying to raise an army to enslave the world. Instead she kept her voice firm. "My husband." A pause, she had to look as old and unrecognizable as he did from the merry young man who'd ripped her life apart, "He was a Seer."

He stilled and focused on her, blue eyes drilling into hers. "Your hair was auburn." The focus only intensified, "You were the first not to beg. For his life or your own."

"Yes." She squeezed both of the twins hands as the memory rushed her, of how she'd been grabbed and had her wand taken as soon as she apparated home. The horrible pain of the curse, the even worse aftermath of her stomach clenching as they dragged her to Jan, knowing in her bones the little life growing there was gone. She hadn't begged because there was simply nothing left to beg for. Grindelwald had mocked her over it, had tried to use the threat of torture against both of them to try and get them to speak and completely hollow she'd told him they wouldn't break. She'd knelt next to her husband and taken his hand in hers, looked up and told the man before her now to either finish it or show himself out of her house. He'd opted to leave. It was strange how much and how little seventy odd years could change a person, he had the same uncertain look in his eyes he'd had then as she'd stared him down and for a moment she thought he would simply get up and leave again.

He didn't, there was genuine remorse in his voice. "I didn't know you were with child. I would have never ordered-"

"You didn't give a sickle." She cut him off, squeezing their hands for strength. "I was never able to have children of my own after."

Fred's legs were dancing and George was fidgeting in anger, this was part of her life they'd never heard of, a part gone long before they made their way into the world. They were protective, her sweet young nephews, not yet jaded by the sands of time. There was a long beat of silence and she pushed the memories away, back into the past, she could mourn later, but now. Now time was precious, his last bits dripping down an hourglass in front of her eyes. "He's going to come to you tonight."

An eyebrow raised, "Riddle has come before."

She shook her head impatiently, her words simply a command. "Jan said he'll ask about the wand." She hadn't begged then and she sure as hell wasn't going to now. "You're going to lie." A pause. "He's going to kill you."

"Muriel!" It was Fred, she ignored him and focused on the blue eyes staring her down, challenging her.

"If I don't?" It was almost a drawl, but there was a weakness lurking there. He was old and tired, filled to the seams with regret. She was quickly getting annoyed with this facade of not caring he felt the need to put on.

Her eyes involuntarily flicked to Fred and away again. She took a sip of her potion, trying to recall a little more of the long ago conversation she'd had with Jan. She stuck to the basics, "If you tell him where the wand is the wizarding world as we know it ceases to exist. There is no greater good. There is nothing but a rising death toll until magic is eradicated."

He kept staring at her and she felt the twins stiffen, she went on, not blinking. "There is purebloods selling lesser purebloods, my great niece," She gestured to her twins, "their sister, is very bonny and Jan said the bidding for the little blood traitor goes on for days."

Fred and George flinched at her sides, sharing a long glance, George's voice adamant. "Nobody is selling Ginny."

"Ever." Fred was burning with rage at the thought. "You killed Aunt Muriel's husband and baby, there's no way you're letting Him sell my sister."

"No fucking way." George added, starting to rise.

Fred rose too, "Muriel, what happens if we just kill him? Does that mess up the timeline?"

"You can't." Gellert interrupted, neither looking amused nor ruffled. He tapped the barrier before refolding his hands, "Time travelers." A thoughtful noise, "Your husband must have thought it very important we speak, no?"

She nodded, but his eyes were glued to the twins, to the uncontainable outrage radiating from them, hands itching for the wands they'd checked as they glared and paced, completely blaming Ginny's potential future on him and itching to do anything to prevent it. Perhaps it wasn't her Jan had Seen him needing to meet. "You love your sister?"

'What the fuck do you think?" Fred's temper boiled over and he slapped the tissues off the table.

"If I had a wand-" George started, hands slamming down onto the back of his chair.

"You'd accidentally kill her in your mood." His words were harsh, drawn from a long ago past and those blue eyes broke for the first time. His gaze dropped to his hands, remembering, his next words soft. "I regret it, somebody should understand that."

"You'll lie?" Muriel demanded.

"Yes, then I'll die." He smiled, as if he was at peace with the outcome.

There was silence in the room, one side of the barrier readying for an impending death and the other simply rather out of sorts. Muriel rose, taking their arms, waiting until he met her eyes. No matter how she felt about the man she was a healer to the core. She offered strength to him in her gaze, her words harsh and clipped, "Would you like me to say a blessing?"

"No." He opted to look back at his hands, back into his memories and as they left she murmured one under her breath anyway, some part of her finally letting go.

They got their wands back in silence and took tea in cafe back in Zurich, Fred's voice rushed, "We could stop Hermione being tortured!"

"No." Muriel told him, triaging the situation, weighing lives, "Everyone but a poor house elf survived."

"House elves matter too!" Fred argued for the first time supporting SPEW.

"So do the lives you want to rush in, Fred." George tried to settle his twin.

"I can go by myself." Fred argued back.

"No." Muriel told him more firmly, non-verbally slapping him with several charms to prevent him. "The chit is fine."

Fred was absolutely seething, "She's being tortured right now."

"Life's not fair and she's a herd of hippogriffs stronger than you think." It was harsher than she meant it to be and while she regretted it and the healer in her cried out, there simply was no way to stop it safely. The time paradox said it had happened. "She'll survive and if the way she smiles at William is any indication she'll have a happy life. More so than I had."

Fred slammed his fist onto the table, looking desperately to his brother, "George, please back me up on this. We just have to send a message."

George shoved his face into his hands, his words completely distressed. "I hate it too, but the journal said absolutely no interference with the Manor. We can't, Fred."

"So we're just supposed to sit here knowing someone is being tortured?" Fred demanded, eyes blazing.

"I hate time travel." George mumbled shoving his face further into his hands.

"Boys…" Muriel tried, feeling dried up from the day's emotional toll. "Why don't you and I create her a product line? We've got a few days to kill."

There would be a long beat of silence before George would recover, "We've been talking about doing the schoolbags, Fred. You know, the ones with featherlight, extendables and hex repellent charms built in?"

"Granger Danger line, yeah." Fred would manage, his eyes looking suspiciously wet with frustrated tears as he twisted in his seat.

"Thought we were going to call it Crookshanks and Calla?" George came back, reaching over to squeeze her hand and she realized she too was close to tears. That poor girl, all of the things William had rambled about were happening to her now.

"For the last time we're not naming anything not pet related after people's pets. I get that Ang's cat is your new best friend, but, just no." Fred was exasperated as he leaned his forehead against George's, sounding as if they'd had this conversation on repeat.

"You're the one who didn't want to give the kitten back to Ang after we pet sat." They fell into a whispered conversation, George's arm going up to rest on his shoulder and Muriel fell into a very long buried past, staring into her tea and wondering if they'd made the difference they needed to.

When Fred and George would in fact stand in front of the mannequin debating just what they wanted to replace it with, joking back and forth they wouldn't know they had again affected time. Percy would tell them later when he'd had to watch the event in security to identify them, their easy banter would make him so homesick it hurt. Percy wouldn't tell them how he'd had to blink rapidly as George would light up, "Should we send Percy one last prat present-"

"-before he comes home? Why, obviously." Or that he'd laugh to himself wondering how the hell they'd gotten a sphinx to replace the mannequin with. He would tell them their utter faith that he would come home would give him the confidence to do it.

* * *

Ginny was surprised when his eyes broke contact and he just looked forward, feeling a rush of disappointment. "Think you'll be ok?"

"I'll be fine, your Mum seems nice and your dad is making me a training schedule for quidditch. Who knew muggles loved it so much?" She soothed and they fell into a comfortable silence for a moment, before she had to ask, impatient as always. "Why didn't you kiss me just then?"

He looked back, his face searching hers, then his arm slipped around her guiding her head to his shoulder. His lips brushed her temple, "Because I know you need time. It's been a crazy few days and now you're here, putting yourself in danger for my family."

Ginny nudged his shoulder with her head, wondering why she was so attracted to noble men. "I would have volunteered even if nothing had happened." It was so simple and so hard to explain, "It's your family."

"I know, sweetheart." His voice was sincere, and his hand came up to play with her hair and they spent another minute in silence sitting on the steps, "But I also know I'm not the only one with inroads into your heart, so take the time. I promise to not make headlines by starting a pissing match with the potential savior of wizarding world."

She laughed and he gave his own chuckle. "You're not really the jealous type, are you?"

"No, figured out awhile ago when I mess it up with girls it's my fault, not another bloke's. If she wants another bloke, not much I can do about it. Took Charlie awhile longer to get that memo, Bill had to ram it down his throat that he was standing in his own way." He leaned his chin on her head, hand still stroking her hair. "I'm not saying it's pleasant when I see other guys drooling over you like tonight, you really should keep that dress, but that's more of a territorial thing. In dragons-"

"No dragon comparisons." Ginny cut in, knowing he could talk for ages like Charlie, another thought popping into her mind. "Did you read the book when Charlie got it?"

"Oh the woo witches one from Bill? Of course, bloody useful that was. How do you think I know to stroke your hair right now?" There was laughter lurking. "We thought it was a secret from you. Guess now I've got to scrap that playbook."

She rolled her eyes and gave him a slight nudge with her head, "Fred and George made me read it, so I could be on my guard against boys trying to get fresh. It was all 'compliment her at every opportunity' and rubbish like that."

"I'll write them a thank you note, my starry eyed witch." He squeezed her side as he said the last part and she giggled.

She turned her head up, looking at him and reached to let her nails graze across his stubble, enjoying the sensation. It seemed natural to lean up towards him, he wouldn't make the move to kiss her, but she could brush her lips against his. His lips moved back and it was long and chaste, her stomach fluttering lightly. It didn't say we're together or let's go to the chapel, but it did say thank you for being there, for being patient, for not pressuring even though you can.

He pulled away with a glance upwards and a mischievous smile on his face. "Forgot to tell you the other reason I didn't kiss you."

"What's that?" She asked confused, feeling startled at the abrupt change of pace.

"My mum has been watching us from the window." He laughed and she responded by smacking him in the chest. "I'm sure you'll get lots of questions tomorrow." She smacked him again, "If she has you try and pick out wedding china, I'll have you know I hate my parents stupid rooster set." Another smack to his laughing chest as he pulled them both up to go back into the house so his dad could take him to the train station.

The next day when she helped Mrs. Robinson shop for some homey things for Ralph's new London flat, they would look at china patterns to get him dishes and Ginny would practice using her cash to buy him a particularly ugly rooster milk pitcher and butter dish set.

* * *

She woke as someone fussed with her blanket, looking up to see Bill peering down at her, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Mmmhmmm, how long have I been asleep?" She asked him, stretching on the little beach chair he'd turned into a nest for her. She'd taken one look at the bed, at _their_ bed, and mumbled something about wanting to enjoy the beach on a nice day.

"A few hours, love." He squatted down next to her, "Are you still sleepy?"

She shook her head and moved to sit up more so he could perch, she felt more rested than she had in a long time. Bill was still frowning though, "Does the latch seem different to you? You feel farther away."

She felt along it and it did seem weaker, Bill's mind more of a whisper against hers. She wasn't sure she liked it, she'd grown used to the closeness even if it drove her insane sometimes. "You too. Does that mean it's falling away?"

He nodded, pulling an arm around her. "I think so, love. You're on your way to unlatching."

She leaned her head against his shoulder, feeling a soft sort of pang already. "I think it's because you took away one of my worst nightmares. I'm safe from that now." She leaned up and kissed his stubbly jaw softly until the tension left it. Her voice soft, "What were you thunking about with?"

"Just driftwood." He told her, pulling her closer as he shoved a potion at her. "You need to take another one for the bone soreness."

She swallowed it and struggled to hold out her hand, finding instead he was already holding the requisite biscuit to her lips. She took a bite, noticing his mood shift after she finished eating it. "Love, I'm so sorry. About everything."

She swallowed the last bit with effort, "Bill, please don't try and blame yourself. …. I don't have any right to be upset."

Those ocean eyes of his met hers and looked away, "That doesn't mean you aren't and that's still pain I caused."

She swallowed again, looking at her own hands. She loved him and perhaps that made all of this harder. "Is it yours?"

"No." His voice was clipped, "Not her husband's either. Mum did the spell."

She wasn't sure what to say about just exactly what that meant to Bill, so she settled with, "At least you know." A pause, "Is she.. is she staying here tonight?"

His laughter was choked, "Certainly not." Another pause as he pulled his arm slightly away, "Ask anything you want about it."

She leaned back into him, unsure of just how much she wanted to know, how much it would hurt if she did find out he still had feelings. The silence stretched out and she watched the waves, Bill would be the one to break it. "Would the summary version be easier?"

She nodded against his chest. His words were halting, "Love, if I say anything you don't want to hear, you tell me. You might be able to guess that my relationship with Fleur was rather different than us. I think you and I have talked more in the past few days than Fleur and I did in the first six or seven months. It was erm, heavily physical between us and with both of us traveling for the Order or work, we didn't waste time talking." He paused checking on her reaction, which was a blank face. "I didn't even think of her as my girlfriend until she invited me to meet her parents for her birthday and I realized I didn't know her well enough to even pick out a thoughtful birthday present."

Hermione tried not to flinch, Fleur didn't seem to have a bad end of the deal. Bill would touch her and she had parents easily accessible to meet. Hermione's mind flitted to what her mother would make of Bill, if the little Hermione had said to her would reconcile with the man himself. Bill went on, "I got back from a Hogwarts Hogsmeade weekend shift to find she'd moved herself and all of her shit into my flat, cancelled her own and rearranged everything. Love, I don't know if you know this about me, but everything has it's own particular place that it belongs."

"I'm that way too." Hermione told him, not surprised that Bill too was freakishly organized.

He nodded, "I can't tell you I didn't love Fleur, because once she was around all of the time I got to know our shared interests and how fiercely smart she was." Another pause and she could feel him testing the edges to see if she was offended. Surprisingly she wasn't, Fleur had been a Triwizard champion for a reason and they'd had some interesting conversations over books nobody else had read. Bill went on in a heavier fashion, "I can tell you our relationship wasn't a particularly healthy one, Fleur is temperamental and wildly emotional and drove me to be the same. We spent most of our time fighting, making up then being over the moon about each other until the next inevitable fight about something utterly stupid."

Hermione thought about the fight she'd heard, how it had gone on and on and kept escalating. "Like what?"

"I got mistaken once for being in a muggle rock band and these girls wanted me to sign things for them. Finding it rather funny I did and had to sleep on the couch that night. I'd get mad at her because she only ever wanted to eat French food when we went out and wouldn't even try anything else." He paused, his voice slightly panicky. "It's okay if you're the same way, love, I got used to eating what I wanted on lunches."

Hermione shook her head against him, "I've spent the last few months living off of burned beans and stolen pantry goods that wouldn't be missed. If I'd been picky, that would be gone. Plus, because my parents both worked we ate a lot of takeaway, usually Indian or Thai."

"Excellent." Bill told her, before sobering again and looking into his lap to avoid her gaze. "Love, after Fleur and I broke up, it only happened a few times and I'm not still in love with her. I took missions to France to keep up the pretense of us being engaged. We never meant it to, it just sort of happened and we'd both immediately regret it. It's completely over now and I don't want you to worry that it will ever happen again or that I even want it to."

Hermione stared at her hands and wiggled them in their slings, she didn't know what to say. She inherently trusted Bill when he said that, could feel how much he meant it through the whispery brushing of their minds. She was surprised at her own words, that she could let Fleur go so easily. Her insecurities came to the forefront. "So why are you always so careful when we kiss? Fleur was the same age as I am when you started dating."

He kissed her temple, "Yes, and she'd already had several partners by then, while you haven't. Love, I'm careful with you because you're healing, because this is not the usual dinner dates test out if we like each other situation. I'm even more careful because I don't want another relationship ultimately revolving around the bedroom." His voice was completely honest, "I wan't more than that with you, a basis in friendship and love that our other activities get to compliment, not drive us to."

"Don't we have that already?" Hermione asked, feeling a warm glow settle in her. This was Bill, who might have made many a mistake, but a Bill whose heart she was getting to know.

"Yes." He kissed her temple again, "C'mon, I've got a surprise for you."

He helped her up and her head rushed with dizziness, he held her until it passed, before scooping her up. She tried to protest, "I can walk."

"It's been a long day." He murmured at her and as they reentered the cottage he called out, "Harry, Ron, one of you go get the blankets and the cot mattress from where Hermione was. The other can start dinner."

Grumbling was heard and they appeared, looking at her anxiously. "How are you feeling?"

She gave them a reassuring smile as they passed on the stairs, "I'm ok, really." Their faces didn't believe her, "I'm doing so well that Bill and I are even starting to unlatch."

They grinned back, Ron's eye still slightly black and started to go follow their orders. When Bill got to the bedroom he seemed excited and when he opened the door she started in his arms. The bed that had been there just hours ago was gone, instead there was a new one made of driftwood, the headboard an arch of different branches. The bedding too was different, rather than the patterned teal it was now a soft cream, small lines of gold threading a subtle pattern. It was something she absolutely would have picked out for herself, simple and understated. She stumbled over her words, "Bill, I… I love it, but you didn't have to do this."

He set her down and she felt the softness of the new comforter, peering up at him. He was smiling as he sat down next to her, "Yes, I did. I saw your face earlier."

"Still, Bill. It's too much." She bounced experimentally, the mattress even felt different.

He shook his head, "Not at all. If you don't like the mattress we can get a new one. Fred picked this one out, he's got a weird obsession with muggle mattress stores."

"Is it going to explode?" She asked in trepidation.

"No, I checked already. They're playing nice." He told her and leaned over for a kiss. She kissed him back for quite awhile.

When he pulled away she asked for his wand, feeling whimsical and actually like an eighteen year old girl. He'd built them a bed. He passed it over and she scooted her way towards the headboard, looking for a spot. "Bill, will you undo my slings."

"No, that would defeat the purpose of you wearing them. Tell me what's wrong or what you're trying to do, love." He told her crawling after her.

He took the wand back and she pointed with her nose, deciding not to argue with him. "That little spot there, right under the knot in the middle. I was going to carve our initials, muggles do it into trees."

He leaned over and kissed her again, "Wizards too, let me get a knife."

He came back with Charlie's knife that Ginny had accidentally stabbed someone with and Hermione felt giggly watching him carve B&H in a little heart, occasionally stopping to wink at her or steal a kiss. When he pulled away, his eyes were a darker blue, his words thoughtful. "That seems a little precipitous." That thoughtfulness remained as he stared at her, "Hermione, may I take you on a date this Saturday?"

Feeling utterly giddy she blushed and nodded, "I'd like that. Very much."

Godric, she needed to make sure Ginny could help her get ready. She wanted to wow this man. She wanted to banish every dark thought of this day from him.

* * *

A/N: Review, favorite, follow, holler for your favorite narrators. Debating on another glimpse into what's going on at Hogwarts!


	19. Not So Good Friday

A/N: Snippet chapter before things get really moving, since Ginny's codename is Easter it's Ginny centric. There's another Ginny fic up 'The Weasley Seven'. This chapter might get torn down, I'm not sure yet, need to gather the feedback!

* * *

 **Not So Good Friday**

"Ginny, phone. Will you please reassure my son that I'm not mistreating you?" Mrs. Robinson seemed amused by the constant phone calls.

Excited, Ginny grabbed it and his mother took to the kitchen to give her a bit of privacy, "Hey there. You on lunch?"

"Yeah, she still treating you like a doll?" Ginny tried not to groan, Ralph's mother had gotten unreasonably excited when she'd realized Ginny didn't know how to dry her hair without magic and had spent hours in the intervening days loudly blowing hot air at her to dry it and style it.

"We got our nails done and we're going shopping again." She hissed it down the line, "I can only look at my feet because if I look at anything she buys it for me. It's too generous." Ginny had hated growing up poor, loved looking at the magazines and wondered if this was some sort of weird way to make up for how much time her parents had spent with his sleepaways with Charlie.

"Gin, do me a favor? Let her have her fun, she always wanted a daughter. You're just getting years of pent up excitement at there being a girl in the house." Sounds of a crisp bag rustling.

"Fine, it's fun anyway," She assured herself she could share the new wardrobe with Hermione and the Order. "We met her Again for lunch. He seemed to want to have me go take photos." Ginny told him confused.

"Agent, Gin. Dammit, you can't start a muggle film career. Put her back on." He sounded utterly annoyed.

"Mrs. Robinson? He wants to talk to you." She called before tuning back in, "How's work?"

"I hate computers." His response was short.

She went to the kitchen and took down a mug, listening to his mother's protests. "She's so pretty though. Just modeling?"

Silence, "Fine, though I really don't think your evil ones are looking at muggle fashion." Sigh, "She should have the choice, I talked to Molly about it already."

A pause, "Well Molly said no, but-"

* * *

"Bill, thanks for picking up the shift last minute." His dad said as they settled into the muggle cafe to wait for the drop off, wands discretely out under the table. There had been a problem at last drop and security had been upped.

"No problem, I needed to get out of the house." He fidgeted his scone, wondering if he would age as his father had, tall, trim and balding.

"Something wrong?" His father asked in mild concern, "Do we need to bring Ron back to Muriel's?"

Bill shook his head, "No, he's fine." He ran a hand through his shaggy hair in annoyance, "Well he's trying at least, it's just not going perfect. I'm hoping Hermione and he will talk today, she just keeps saying there's nothing to talk about, but there is. He gets so short with her and it just gets under my skin hearing him talk to her like that." He sighed, "I got scolded by her for treating him like he was a child this morning."

"What'd you do?" His father asked gently.

"Vanished Ron's breakfast and sent him to his room for being unbearably rude. I've turned into Mum." Bill was not happy with the development, but the urge had simply been too strong, the older brother role who'd spent summers breaking up Ron and Ginny's fights ingrained too much to deny. It had drifted through his mind so many times when he was younger just how their family dynamics and personalities would have been different if they'd been born in a different order. He and Charlie had so many theories on it, the only constant being their parents would have stopped having kids as soon as Ginny showed up, though Charlie contested if the twins had been first things would have been insanely different and some of them wouldn't exist.

"Your Mum never used taking away food as punishment, Bill. Have you considered talking to Ron about it yourself?" It was lightly said and Bill shook his head, while his mum had never done it on purpose there had been a long stretch in the first war where they didn't ever have enough food and his dinners would mostly be milk and vegetables from the garden.

"I've tried that. He says he's trying and they've just always bickered." He took a bite, glancing at the clock before giving his dad a smile, "He and Harry gave me 'a talk', like overprotective brothers. Once one of them let slip Fred always was in charge of it for Ginny's boyfriends and I heard George giggle, he was trying to record it muggle style." He paused to roll his eyes, "It was rather entertaining, Harry just kept making himself uncomfortable. On that note, do you want to refresh Ron on his own talk or should I do it? He's a little bit confused on a few fronts."

His dad grinned back and shook his head, "I'll have Percy do it, I think he was a little disappointed when he made pamphlets for the twins only to find out they were way ahead of him. Something to do with Charlie, I didn't want details."

Bill grinned to himself, he knew exactly what incident was being referenced. The twins had been hiding from Filch and ended up with quite a show. Well, until George panicked and just started throwing dung bombs because he thought she was attacking Charlie. Charlie and he had ended up explaining an awful lot to them in the prefects' bathroom as everyone got de-dunged. "Then I'll keep it to myself, though Charlie and I gave them the rundown."

His father shook his head and readjusted his glasses, "They should have known the basics."

"They did, but knowing and seeing are rather different." Bill said, glancing at the clock again, thinking feeling was an even bigger gap, his thoughts drifting to Hermione's first little mews and whimpers.

It must have shown on his face because the next thing his father asked, "How are you and Hermione otherwise? Dealing ok with everything?"

He was really asking how Bill was doing. His dad had always asked indirectly, logically, had let Bill take the time to answer when he first struggled with the changes his blood carried and the moon tore out of him. Now it was worse in a way, there was no playbook for the aftermaths of war induced violence, no general guidelines of dealing with his condition and being in love, no description for the overwhelming urges he had to simply keep her safe, protected and happy at any cost. Things he couldn't do, things she was too headstrong to let him and he loved her too much to stop her. Oh he knew she was planning on leaving and as much as he wanted to stop her, he wouldn't, he would help her prepare just like last time even if it destroyed him to do it. Perhaps this was a conversation better suited towards Remus or Tonks. Still he tried, "We're good, she's.. she's incredible about everything, Dad. I think it's Mum's fault I like them overbearing, I don't know any other way. I had a night terror about Greyback and accidentally whacked her. She just bossed me back to my senses, then scolded me about fussing over her." His dad gave him a commiserating smile and Bill went on, feeling a touch forlorn, she was still there at the edges, but it was so much less intense than seeing into her clever mind. "We're almost all the way unlatched."

"That's good news, We've been wondering if we needed to write experts about the latch." Bill glanced up at the door chime, smiling at Percy's roomer who casually dropped a backpack in the chair and went for a drink, got it and left without glancing at them. Potions, they had the controlled healing potions now and more ingredients to brew. His father went on, voice dropping. "Muriel said she can stop the nutrient potion."

"No. She's still cold almost all of the time, I've got to keep her under blankets or near fires." Bill was firm.

"Charlie said you're smothering her with blankets and she's not as cold as you think." It was a logical reprimand.

"Yeah well Charlie's not the one she's constantly using to warm her freezing hands and feet. She'll take that potion until she can go a day without shoving the little icebergs she has for hands up my shirt for warmth."

His father shifted and cleaned his glasses, "Your mother wanted me to talk to you about…alternate sleeping arrangements. She wasn't fond of the fact you two shared a bed at Muriel's… especially in light of the pregnancy scare."

"Tell Mum you tried." Bill took a sip of his tea, "I don't fit on the couch and I'm not shuffling her out of our room to share one with Fleur."

"Fleur?!" His father was completely startled.

"Mum wouldn't let her stay at Muriel's and when she sent an owl apologizing to Hermione about everything Hermione invited her to stay as an olive branch. I was ticked, but they went for a walk and came back all settled with Hermione adding Veelas to her list of abused magical creatures and claiming their discrimination is worse than against muggleborns. Now Fleur just backs up anything Hermione says and they're both ordering me about.'Beel, you 'aven't fed 'Ermione mussels from the beach. Go gather them.' I'm so glad she's leaving tomorrow." He rolled his eyes, "Ron still can't handle it around her if she does the Veela blast and because the baby's father is full it just keeps happening randomly."

His dad shifted and nodded. "I'm not telling your mother she's staying there and please don't say 'our room' in front of your Mum."

"Fine. Need any other shifts picked up?" He took the last bite of the scone.

"Charlie needs a little help with resetting the wards, that dragon keeps breaking through." His dad sighed.

He grabbed the potions bag, "Fine, I'll head over. You're on London coverage?"

"Wales." His father stood, "Try and calm your Mum down about Ginny, will you? She's still furious I let her take an assignment even if she's just sitting around playing muggle."

Bill nodded, "I'll try my best, Dad."

* * *

"I got promoted." He sounded completely disheartened.

"Promotions are huge!" Ginny tried to cheer him.

"Not when they're because of an accident. I'm interim head of international women's relations." He groaned. "I've got six women under me and they all hate me for it."

"How on earth did that happen?" Ginny was starting to laugh.

"We've got an influx of Serbian refugees from the Bosnian conflict so they just picked the person who spoke the most languages." Another groan, "My resume said I specialized in helping mothers conceive and transition to motherhood in extreme circumstances." Smash. "I was talking about dragons."

She just burst out with the laughter now, fully fledged. "Are you banging your head against your desk?"

"No, the wall."

* * *

"The chimney did bubble for months after she hid in it." A third voice interrupted the call.

"Mum!" It was embarrassed, "Are you listening in? Get off the line!"

"Just a peek, Wanted to tell you we'll be in London for Ginny's photos and are bringing you lunch." A line went click.

"Ginny…." He started.

"She didn't tell me." Ginny protested back, flushing herself. "We're going to decorate your flat, see a musical and I get to practice my driving!"

"Please tell me it's been my dad teaching you to drive." There was a soft desperation there.

Ginny paused and he groaned, "Mum can't even parallel park. Just lie to me?"

"Your dad explained the flower petals and petrol." She told him, fidgeting. He had, well he'd said the car needed petrol.

"Go give him the phone." It was the same non-negotiable tone she liked to use on other people to great effect.

* * *

"Hey Charlie, Hey Perce." Bill said strolling from the apparition point.

"What did I ask for on my seventh birthday?" Percy had his wand drawn.

"Your own room, took a long while to get it." Bill said easily, not bothering with any questions instead peering at him. "Percy, your ear is infected! Are you not cleaning it?"

"I am-" Percy started.

"Bill, get in here." His mother yelled and he flinched, she sounded furious.

"What?" He started to ask, looking flummoxed.

"Now, Bill." It was a demand.

Percy grinned and glanced at Charlie who was looking away, "Charlie threw you under the bus."

Bill glared at them and went to face the music and Percy nudged his brother, "You really have to stop just blaming everything on Bill."

"I didn't mean too, just panicked." Charlie protested. "I want to keep my hearing and most of the time it is his fault."

Percy kept glaring at him. "You just blamed him for the time you pierced your eyebrow, dragon burns and then ratted him out about going to Macau to gamble over coming home for Easter."

Charlie shook his head guiltily and tried to convince himself, "She was already mad at him anyway. Look let's at least start checking the basic containment wards and try and find the weaknesses. Bill can help us patch them after, stay away from the nest if you want to stay alive."

Percy moved away testing, trying to find just how the male dragon kept forcing his way out when the door slammed and Bill marched towards them looking harassed. "Charlie, you owe me. That wasn't under the bus, that was shoving me in front of oncoming train."

Charlie looked utterly guilty. "Anything you want, but really that seemed short for Mum."

"Saved by senile Muriel whose nap was interrupted and is currently cutting into Mum over how all this yelling is the reason Ginny ran away from home." He rolled his eyes before giving a small smile.

"Ginny would." Charlie grinned and Percy shook his head at his brothers.

"No she wouldn't. She was really homesick at Hogwarts." Percy informed them, "We always made sure of one was us with right by her at meals to keep it under control and she was always up in the twins dormitory." He sighed, "Part of why Mum is going mental, Ginny used to write her everyday and now she's not."

"Bill, get away from the dragon." Charlie snapped and Bill jumped paces back.

"Sorry." He apologized and Charlie shook his head.

"Amateur hour. Let me finish checking and I'll call you two." Charlie moved off and Bill shrugged at Percy, indicating he didn't care and sat down.

Percy dropped down next to him, "Kingsley got Dean Thomas out of being sent to Azkaban. Oliver's still stuck, he never was good at keeping his mouth shut."

"How on earth did he get a known muggleborn out?" Bill queried.

"Dean's got a single Mum and Kingsley told the Ministry he'd had a dalliance, but because she'd been a muggle he'd lost contact when he went on some really long undercover assignment."

"Bloody hell."

"Your fault with the Fleur thing, probably gave him the idea. Kingsley's a department head and you need the mother for the spell so he can get away with it." Percy told him, pausing, "A contact of mine at the Ministry who knew him years ago said he wouldn't be surprised if a few wild oats popped up."

"Found where we need to patch." Charlie yelled and they rose to go learn how to contain a dragon.

* * *

Ginny's bracelet buzzed and she pulled out the mailbox, eagerly grabbing the letter. _. Know anyone who speaks Mermish? I think this crying lady got cursed._

She scrawled back rapidly, _Bill tried to date a Siren once so he might. Bad day?_

She shoved it back and tugged, it buzzed almost immediately. _The worst, I'm about to feed the Prime Minister a pile of dragon dung during a four hour think tank. Mirror Bill for me?_

 _Of course. Keep your chin up, Robinson, and give that woman some tissues. Turns out your mother really does not like flying. I think I broke her when I did a barrel._ Ginny shoved it back and yanked the mirror out of her purse, spying her own mother lurking. "Mum?"

"Ginny! I was so hoping you would check in." Her mother looked flustered and Ginny wondered how much time her Mum had spent waiting and pacing the war room, sitting around in the off hope Ginny would peer.

She shoved the guilt away, "Mum, Bill needs to go to London. Ralph is having some problem with a muggle who can only speak Mermish."

Her mother sighed, before disappearing, her voice echoing back, "Mundungus I know you speak Mermish. Get over here."

"Ginny, your braid is coming undone, let me redo it." Mrs. Robinson settled next to her, fingers already intertwining in her hair and Ginny smothered a sigh. She was not five, "Your hair is such a pretty shade of red, isn't it? Like the sunset, if you'd only let me take you to the salon we could layer the part where Ralphie let one of his dragons burn it."

"It wasn't Ralph's dragon, Mrs. Robinson, it was mine." She managed polite, relieved when Bill's face popped up in the mirror. Her own Mum had already trimmed off of her scorched hair.

"Hey Gin, how's it holding? I need your help." He was whispering, looking over his shoulder, "I'm taking Hermione on a date, but I need your help setting it up."

She grinned, "When? About time. Details!" She paused, focusing, "Bill do you speak Mermish?"

"No, Fred made that up to hit on a bird, so I just made weird noises back and forth with him." He glanced around again then startled as Ginny angled the mirror to show him her companion, "Oh, hi."

"Hello!" Mrs. Robinson's practically screamed it as if unsure just how the mirror worked, Ginny grabbed back out her mailbox, scribbling a note.

Bill shook his head, "Do you think she'd be okay with a classy picnic on the beach? I don't really want her out from under the wards, but want it to be romantic."

"That sounds lovely,-" Ginny started.

"Champagne and candles." Mrs. Robinson yelled at him.

Abruptly the mirror would be shift again, her mother popping back in, "Dung is going to help him. I miss you, Ginny. Bill, go make sure he goes without trying to take Muriel's silverware and let me talk to her." Ginny shifted her own mirror, "Oh hello, Elena, thank you for taking such good care of my little girl."

"Hi Mum-" she started again as Mrs. Robinson tried to talk and another voice came through the mirror.

"Is that Ginny?" Hermione's anxious face appeared, leaning over her mother. "Gin, I need your help. Bill asked me on a date and I don't know what I'm going to wear." Pause, she looked panicky, "You've always, always done my hair for dates. I just- and it's Bill!"

Ginny eyed her glamorous companion understanding Hermione's panic, she'd felt that with her first stroll with Harry, "Mrs. Robinson would you mind if Hermione came over to get ready?"

"Not at all, I'll send my husband to the pub. Or we can go there and I can see how you do it with magic. We can do shopping for her in London, beach fashion is just coming in. What's her size?" She was grinning and Ginny broke into one too ignoring the fact Hermione's face looked unsettled at their sheer excitement.

"Have you had a pedicure?" Hermione looked truly alarmed at being screamed at by a stranger and just let Mrs. Weasley take the mirror back, mumbling something about helping Charlie.

* * *

He glanced at the magazine he'd just confiscated from a student and dread settled like a pit, he headed for someone he hoped would once again prove to be someone willing to listen. The girl in the photos' hair might shine the exact shade of Lily's in the dungeon light and her fiery personality was not dissimilar, but this little girl needed to learn how to keep herself out of trouble. She'd brought up the ghost at times, a swish of red hair going around the corner as if Lily had just left the room, a flicker of seeing her down by the lake and having to double take from his office. Her defense of the less popular students an echo of another girl, making it harder to detest her than it was her horde of brothers. Her desire to run for trouble instead of away another whisper, Lily had always been so brave. He knocked on the office door, waiting for the call to enter. "Minerva, I need to speak to you."

"Can it wait Professor?" She didn't lower her wand and continued to demonstrate the vanishing charm on the piglet for a child.

"Unfortunately not." He drawled and gestured to dismiss the student sitting in her office.

The Ravenclaw went, arms folded to show the word written on her forearm with an idle glare as Minerva's words commanded her. "Keep practicing on the porcupines. Try not to keep scaring them, it makes it harder."

"I've confiscated this from one of your house. Miss Brown has been given a detention for possession of muggle paraphernalia." It was another drawl as he produced the magazine once the little Ravenclaw was gone. She raised an eyebrow and took it, he hoped she would trust him once again. Would see the man beyond the facade and under the black robes. He gestured for her unroll it, "It seems one of your wayward charges has taken after her boyfriend's love of the spotlight."

She started to flip from the back and he reached out, closing the magazine in her hand and turned it over and pointed to the cover where there was a photo of Ginny sitting behind the wheel of a car, a male hand on hers over the clutch. "Exclusive! Elena Athelson Blindsided by Roger Robinson's Cheating with Teenager. Photos Inside."

She scanned the article and he knew she was seeing the photos, he gave his own commentary. "It's poorly written rubbish, but the Ministry will likely be…. displeased there is a long range photo of a muggle holding a quaffle."

"It lists the town," She murmured to herself. "Oh, I've got to them out of there." She looked up at him and gave a tight smile, the first time she'd used his first name since last June, "Thank you, Severus."

It wasn't much, but from Minerva McGonagall it was something, a shred of someone believing he was still decent. He drummed his nails on her desk, thinking how much he could exactly say, how to phrase the words to where even if his mind was invaded it would look like he was utterly loyal. "The Dark Lord doesn't kill pureblood children, Minerva. Especially not ones beloved by the wayward Mr. Potter."

Severus had a rather dreadful feeling in his stomach that this warning might be coming too late that perhaps a team had already been eagerly dispatched without direct permission from the Dark Lord.

He was right.

* * *

"Oh please, I'm truly fine." Ginny protested, it was embarrassing enough that her alter ego was being accused of an affair, more embarrassing than what the Prophet was writing about her these days. She didn't need to hear more and more about it, they hadn't even gotten right which son she was supposedly dating. "Seriously, I'm fine. The Daily Prophet's done worse, even included my wanted poster in circulation."

"It'll blow over much quicker if we just-" Ginny tuned her out at the telltale sound of a crack.

"Elena, no." Mr. Robinson squeezed his wife's hand. "Last time you pushed-." Another crack and Ginny pulled her wands, glancing at the forest that edged the backyard patio they were sitting in. She stood, heart starting to hammer.

"It's time to go inside." Ginny tried to keep her voice calm and confused they rose and moved.

"Ginny-"

"Get behind me."

Someone in the telltale dark hood stepped out of the edge of the woods and Ginny realized there was no time for any of the proper extraction methods. No time for the car, no time, no time. She threw a shield and blocked the first curse, her other hand scrabbling for her bracelet. She yanked it and pulled the emergency portkey at them with a command, "Grab on. It'll take us to safety."

Terrified they did and she could feel it readying itself to go when her shield broke and she let go to slam dual ones up against the increased assault. A moment was it all it took to send them whizzing away and leave her in a very bad situation. She tried to twist, found she couldn't and tried to keep the protego as she dodged and sprinted for the woods, throwing curses wildly over her shoulder. Laughter lurked behind her, they seemed to be in no rush and she scrabbled herself up a tree, easing silently among the branches to another one. "Come out, come out wherever you are."

None had left after the Robinsons and it hit her, they weren't there for them, they were after her. She flattened herself to dodge a curse thrown her way as they littered the trees with a barrage of stunners and hallway hexes, from the sounds of it. "Come now little Red, there's a big, bad wolf waiting."

"Remember the orders." It was an aristocratic hiss, "We're just to hunt. Potter will need ample of time to figure out the message."

"I still don't think they've got the code." Someone argued.

Oh, Merlin. Bill did have it though. She eased the mirror out of her bag, shifting further against the trunk to block the onslaught. She was bait and ice was filling her. Her words were a hiss, knowing because it was between 8 and 9 someone would be watching. Her words were barely audible. "The Robinsons are safe. Send no backup."

Percy went chalk white, apparently unable to form words. She went on, letting the adrenaline flood her, "I'm bait. I repeat no backup."

Kingsley's face appeared, "Ginny, we got the intercept, we've got a team. Just hold on."

"No. I can make it to Mrs. Tonks'. They suspect their code is broken, don't waste that on me." It was another hiss and she hoped she sounded a lot more confident than she felt. She shoved the mirror back in the bag and shoved the hot tears away at the same time, shutting off the protests. She tried to breathe, some of them were airborne now, their cackles echoing around her as more hexes hit the trees surrounding her. If she could get a broom it would be faster than trying to outrun them or crawl through the trees. Another breath, she'd have to go fully offensive, once she threw a single hex her position would be gone and there were simply too many. She cast a silencing charm and crawled further out to an edge to increase her visibility, the charm blocking out the insults and taunts of her poverty, her blood traitor family, Potter loving and muggle whoring ways.

She didn't cry out as a search hex hit her, blisters breaking out on her side, blood filling her mouth at the effort to keep silent. Broom, wait until someone swoops close enough. She perched, heart hammering, blood thrumming with adrenaline, two were in view. Two of six. Closer, come closer, she urged, shifting her branch just enough to rattle it. He came and she started firing, bone breaking with her left hand, stunning with her right and leapt after the broom, grabbing it and swerving as its previous master was thrown.

Block, fly with one hand, dive, dodge, toss a curse, roll, slam a hex, shield, pain, dive, explode the other rider's broom, breathe heavily. Trying to avoid branches, aim, hex, another one spinning away from her, feint, shield, try not to fall off, shield, send a stunner, burning across her cheekbone, gasp, barrel roll to avoid downward attack, throw fire at the grass.

She was tumbling wildly in the air, the back of her broom hit, simply trying to hold on and not crash, shield with the left, useless sparks shooting from the right. She could feel the welcome of the wards. Safety so close when she smashed into the ground in a fiery mess. Abrupt pain in her body, the feel of a curse hitting her. She twitched and flailed, screaming as the pain burned and tore through her, indescribable. It stopped abruptly, another voice screaming instead, "Don't hurt her yet."

A flash of light hit her and everything fell away, her brain felt thick. What was she doing here on the ground? She didn't want to be on the ground, there was a man kneeling over her, dragging her to her feet. "The Dark Lord will be disp-"

No. No. No. She flung him off, flipping him, biting the next hand that tried to restrain her, flinging an elbow into a diaphragm and began to fight desperately, furiously, only the way a girl who's brothers hadn't been able to hit her back could. Angrily, wildly, hitting everywhere they couldn't block, hexes flying around her in a cloud of confusion as she hit and hexed at the same time, until they changed tactics and opted to go back to hurting her over restraining. Impact, the ground again and she stared up at them, more confusion taking her brain as a second curse hit her. She flailed her arms, waving wands in utter fury as she sat up, screaming the only thing she had left in her brain at the moment: her name.

 _Ginevra._

 _Molly._

 _Weasley._

She was flattened back into the ground at the force of a cave full of bats erupting from the wands, attacking, biting and dive bombing everyone away from her. She started to crawl, dragging her now shattered leg and paused at the high cold voice, the lone person suddenly in a gap of the bats blocking the sky. "Did you miss me my little, crying Ginny?" Condescending, "Where's your rescue?" Mocking, "I rather thought Mr. Potter was fond of you."

She looked at him, at the snakelike eyes, lack of ears and high cruel forehead. She was so confused, but she knew, she knew in her bones this man wanted to hurt her. He seemed to be searching her for something, for a location, the edges of her brain felt like burning oil. She looked up at the bats, still attacking everyone's faces and found courage there as a snake slivered around the man thing towards her. "Get away from me."

The snake paused at her words and he gave a high laugh.

"Still a parseltongue, Nagini. I wonder…" His voice hissed when he spoke and he moved closer, eyeing her with a renewed and calculating interest. She kept dragging herself backwards towards something. Get away. Just get away from them. She swung a wand and a curse flew, blocked with a flick of the finger.

Another voice erupted, high and sweet, " _Turgiclus Erutpo."_

The horrible man grabbed at his face, strange eruptions appearing there and Ginny felt herself grabbed and dragged the last bit to safety, a barrage of hexes and curses being thrown over her head as coverage.

It would be Dean that would pull her up, Luna taking her other arm to try and support her weight. She staggered, Dean lifting her, being grabbed by an anxious Remus and a jostling run, Dean's voice floating back, strained and excited. "That was amazing Luna, is that what turgies are?"

"Thank you. Why yes, turgies do prefer ears, but he didn't have any." Was the pleased response.

Completely inappropriate laughter bubbled out of her as she was jostled with pain. Her carrier was screaming unbearably loud. "She made it! Send word! Cancel interception!"

It would take a few minutes for her to be propped up in the living room, properly unConfounded to explain what happened, leg braced and set to heal overnight. Her Mum fussing over her blisters and cuts, Tonks over her baby when she heard the frantic footsteps. His green eyes were blazing as he met hers from the doorway, causing the room to burn away as he closed the distance between them, heedless of their audience.

* * *

A/N: There we go, enjoy the holiday if you celebrate it! Would love to celebrate with some reviews :)


	20. Of Courtship and Dating

A/N: Love, love, love the reviews, they fury the writing. Since it's Monday, here's something to get you through it! Longest chapter yet and we finally get to see Bill and Hermione's date.

* * *

 **Of Courting and Dating**

Just near the apparition point of Shell Cottage a giant argument was reaching a tipping point. Harry's voice adamant, "I'm going! I have to go after her."

"Absolutely not. " Bill was equally as adamant as he headed off, he'd been telling them this since he took off at a run at the intercept message.

"Harry-" Hermione tried to intervene.

Harry grabbed his arm in fury and found himself pushed off by the larger man, who turned to face him. "She said it's a trap. You are not part of the emergency-"

"I don't care.-" Harry was yelling.

"We're going." Ron was arguing. "You need us."

"Do you have a death wish? He-Who-." It was a snap.

"-It's Ginny!" Harry screamed, anger rising in him and he started towards Bill.

"Yes and I'm going alone, it's my job to protect you three." Harry's wand went flying towards Bill.

"Great job there, letting Greyback take-" Harry flung and Bill blanched. Bill pulled his galleon looking for the location.

"Harry! Don't!" She cut off, seeing Bill just lose his patience at the name, at the failure he felt so heavily on himself.

"I'm perfectly aware of who it is, Harry. She's my baby sister and she made it. I'm on cleanup duty." Bill turned away voice rough with trying not to snap.

"Give me the wand back. She's hurt, your face says she's hurt." Harry was trying to rush him again in sheer anger at his forced helplessness, Ron torn between hexing and running blindly in behind.

Hermione grabbed to restrain Harry, screaming at them. "Stop it! Stop it! All of you!"

Harry shook her off and she stumbled to the ground as Bill's wand waved and everyone stuck. Bill was radiating with fury, staring towards Harry. "Don't you ever fucking shove her again. Do you understand me?"

"Bill, I just fell." She tried to calm, "Just tripped." completely panicking at how quickly things had escalated once the news had come about Ginny under attack. He'd been rowing with Ron and Harry nonstop as they ran towards the apparition point about them staying behind.

"Don't lie to me, Hermione. You've been doing enough of that lately." It was another snap, he stopped his advance on Harry, his eyes burning into hers. "You'd think you would have at least asked for my damn advice about trying to break into Gringotts and be smart enough to not trust a goblin. Or used me as a reference by asking about my old job." His hand clenched. "Using a wand for identification that's been likely reported stolen? That's rich." He shook his head in derision at the three of them.

Her insides were frozen, he was beyond furious. More upset than he'd been with Fleur. He threw something at Harry who caught it, still without breaking that piercing eye contact. "Here's Hermione's emergency portkey Griphook told you would work, it'll kill all of you very painfully if you try to use it. You'll be splinched into a thieves prison and the goblins check the vaults before they bother with thieves."

Her chest was shaking, her whisper telling her he only had worry and anger left at him. "Bill-"

"You lot just go back and talk to Griphook, who's already double-crossed you by striking a bargain with me."

"I'm going for her." Harry started again, though he looked shaken by the revelations, his heart torn between duty and love.

"No, because I'm not taking Hermione and you two can no longer leave the wards without her. You two idiots think you can go back on the hunt for Horcruxes with no supplies, half a brain and still survive? Think Hermione will forgive you for leaving without even telling her?"

"You were trying to leave me behind?" She was enraged.

"Hermione-" Ron started.

"How the hell do you know about what we're doing? Hermione did you tell him?" Harry was just so furious still, yelling over both of them. He needed to make sure Ginny was ok.

"You yelled it during a nightmare, Harry." Bill told them. 'You and -" Bill cut himself off and Hermione flinched as an unwanted suspicion filled her brain. No. No. NO.

"I won't stop you from leaving, Harry, but I sure as hell will try and keep you from getting Hermione and my brother killed from sheer stupidity and poor planning. You've already done that once." Then Bill turned with a glare and stalked off, leaving chaos in his wake.

"Bill-"

Harry was simply cursing and flailing sand everywhere in an attempt to get himself unstuck in anger and get to him. The charm broke as Bill twisted away.

"I can't believe he said that, mate. Way over the line."

"I'm going to-"

"Both of you shut up and get out of my sight." She yelled it at them, so incredibly hurt by their actions. Harry, Harry who'd she'd stuck beside for so long, given up so much had truly shoved her. Tried to shove her away from something they'd been locked into for years, she was devastated at his desertion.

"Hermione-" Ron started again.

"Go away." She told him firmly, too angry for him right now. Harry was already stalking back to the house, presumably to take his anger out on Griphook. His glare at her so fierce she flinched at it. She'd have to try and fix things between him and Bill, though after what they'd both said she was doubtful it would be ok. Harry had thrown the fact she'd been taken in Bill's face and Bill had retaliated with even bigger guns, both of their greatest perceived failures becoming ammunition.

"But-" He tried.

"Get away from me." She told him firmly, starting to shake with tears of her revelation, tears at Bill's anger and unnecessary sharp words, but Ron took it as one of those moments they occasionally had where she still freaked out on him.

She sobbed until she ran herself dry, heaving and shaking for what seemed like forever. Bill was furious with her, Harry and Ron wanted to leave her, Bill and Harry were both furious with each other and worst of all the prophecy about Harry running around and around her brain. She stared at ocean, lost in thought, tears still coming from time to time and didn't acknowledge whoever it was that urged her to come inside. They left and she let the wind chill her completely as she waited, her questions would be easier to demand if she couldn't feel anything.

The stars had come out by the time Bill returned, shocked to see her still sitting there. "Love, what are you doing?"

"Sit down." She had no right to order him, but she needed to know. The rest could wait.

"I'm sorry I yelled, but-" He'd calmed.

"What do you know about Horcruxes?" Another demand, she and Bill could make up later. She'd figure it out with Harry and Ron once she could look at them after such a betrayal.

He sat and touched her tentatively, before conjuring multiple blankets and casting warming charms on them before draping her in them, wrapping some around the two of them, his arm easing around her back tentatively. She waited impatiently, but sensing he was choosing his words managed not to explode on him. "More than I want to. I first heard of them at goblin school, the roots come from a Pharaoh who tried to make his army immortal. Roman gladiators were a popular choice for how to make one in later years." He sighed deeply, "Unfortunately, most of us treasure hunters have come across one and turned it over to be destroyed."

He paused, glancing at her tense face and tried to soften what he was saying with a kiss to her temple. His voice dropped "Several years ago Gringotts sent half of their curse breakers to handle a pirate ship full of stolen goblin goods. I was part of the team holding the upper level crew and our charges told us of the atrocities the Captain had committed." He tried to ease her into his arms, but she sat clenched, waiting. "He'd turned his First and Second mates into Horcruxes to make sure they stayed loyal. There's a certain connection they talked about that sounds rather familiar."

She squeezed her eyes shut in horror, she knew all about the connection Harry and Voldemort shared. The horrors, the mind sharing and how Dumbledore had tried to prevent Voldemort from becoming aware of it. He wrapped his other arm around her as tears leaked out. "Do you think Harry-" She couldn't finish.

He put his head on hers and didn't lie. "Logically, no. He wouldn't have tried so many times to kill Harry if he was, would he? They have a bond and I hate that I'm thankful for it, otherwise my Dad would be dead. It's Ginny I'm worried about."

She sat there in silence, struggling and finding she couldn't cope trying to tell herself logic was always right. Something was still niggling at her. His voice shook, "He was intentionally was draining her soul and life for his. That's the arithmancy equation you hate so much that's been stuck in my mind. There's too many unknown variables, I don't know if Tom's embodiment could fracture itself further for Ginny, was simply using her as a lifesource or could even stay once Harry destroyed everything. I don't know enough about how they're made and am no expert on soul magic." She made a choked noise, she hadn't even thought of that. Ginny had poured her soul into the diary until he could pour his back into her until he completely controlled her even as a memory.

"Ginny still gets nightmares about him forcing her to do those things." Hermione wanted to shove her face in her hands and just cry until all of this was better. "Is there anything-"

"No, love. There's no undo." Her insides were clenching and she abruptly pulled out of his arms and was sick. Not Harry. Not Ginny. He pulled her hair back and let her heave, a glass of water appearing when she was done. She was going to find a way, she vowed to herself as she rinsed out her mouth.

"Bill what are we going to do?" It wasn't quite hopeless, but it was close. She simply would not give up, would not let this be a reality.

He pulled her back to him, "We'll start with more research, love. I dug through my old training book and found the reference for where they mentioned Horcruxes. I can break into Gringotts collection for it."

"Didn't you just have a giant fit over breaking in there earlier?" She emptily tried to scold him to bring some normalcy back into her freezing insides.

"Completely different. Those are high security vaults and this is a library to which I'm an employee with access. The goblins know I'm translating under a different name and never fired me anyway, I'm just listed as presumed dead. I just need to do it after hours so nobody sees what I'm looking at." Bill was using a tone that very much reminded her of Percy.

"I'm going with you." She told him.

He didn't respond to her statement. "You haven't even asked about Ginny. She very much wants to talk to you."

"Oh Godric! How is she?" Guilt flooded her.

* * *

He dropped to a crouch next to her, pressing his forehead against hers, light green eyes searching hers, voice anxious. "Are you ok?"

Why was he all bloody? Her answer was firm, "Yes. Are they safe?"

"Yes. Thank you." He squeezed her, "They called as soon as they recovered from the portkey." His nose was brushing hers, hand tangling in her hair. "I went right after you."

"I said no backup." She muttered her own hand going to his face and readjusting the angle. "You're hurt."

"Got attacked by bats as I tried to clear my way through a fire to get here." It was said against her lips with a proud smile.

"Mine and mine." She confirmed as the kiss began, lips moulding and moving in giving assurance and thanks, tongues dancing in offering and accepting more than what they'd been, creating a new layer to what had built and changed between them for years. It broke and his light green eyes were still on fire as he pressed his forehead to hers again, taking a breath, before it started again and Ginny pulled him closer, smiling as everything in her shifted and settled into serenity.

"Ahem. I think that's enough visiting for now." Her mother's voice and he pulled back, both of them flushing. Ginny had forgotten about everyone but him, he let go of her hair and she reached for his hand.

He looked at her mother, whose face was demanding a very prompt explanation and didn't gulp, giving her hand a squeeze. "Mrs. Weasley, I'd like to ask your permission to date-"

His eyes flicked to Tonks waving a hand behind her mum, mouthing words at him, "Er, I mean, court, Ginny." More frantic waving and he tried to sound out what she was mouthing, "Wormily?" Head shake, "Oh, formally? Mrs. Weasley I'd like your permission to court Ginny formally."

He turned to look at Ginny herself and she smiled, insides soaring even as he tried to give her choices, "Whenever, if ever, she's ready."

"Can we go to the movies?" Ginny asked eagerly.

"Shush, Ginny." Her mother started before her eyes softened at seeing her sheer excitement, "I'll need to talk to Arthur and we'll set the rules. Bill will have to chaperone, of course."

"Chaperone?" He asked in confusion and Ginny gave a dramatic sigh. She didn't want a chaperone, but at least it would be Bill, who wouldn't give a flying flip if they kissed. Maybe he'd bring Hermione and they could double date.

Mrs. Tonks answered, "How old is Arthur? Isn't it fully Bill's decision now?"

"What?" Ralph just seemed utterly confused and Tonks laughed in pure mirth.

"You're technically right, Andromeda, but Bill wouldn't interfere with our choices for Ginny." Her Mum sounded slightly offended and Ginny doubted the truth of that statement. She had a feeling if they said no and she told Bill she wanted to do this he'd intervene. He'd handle the blowout of Mum's anger and shrug it off, just like he'd always done when he'd taken the blame for various misdeeds for all of them.

Ginny tried to help Ralph, squeezing his hand, "Because Dad is considered old from the archaic rules, it's Bill's responsibility to ensure I'm properly settled." She rolled her eyes, "The wizarding world went into hiding when everyone used to die really young and women were still sort of property."

"You're not kidding are you?" Ralph asked her, alarmed and appalled.

"You're not a pureblood are you, boy?" Mrs. Tonks cut in.

"No. Muggleborn." Defensive and proud at once.

"Come along, I'll give you a book and rundown while Molly finishes healing her up. My husband tried to do the same formal courtship not knowing any better. You should be ashamed of yourself for telling him to phrase it like that, Dora."

"Can't I stay?" He asked and Ginny nodded, she wanted him to stay at least until she took the sleep potion.

"No." Mrs. Weasley told him, "I need to heal her sides."

Tonks sounded completely chirpy, "Dad failed the courtship tests and Mum got burned off from the family tree for running away anyway. You shouldn't have said formally, then you two could have just dated."

"You mouthed it at him!" Ginny argued, still clinging to his hand, the bone-setting potion for her leg was going to hurt like she was being stomped on by hippogriffs.

"I know. I want to see him jump through hoops. You're worth it." Tonks grinned back and he shook his head, before finding himself grabbed by her mother, chin being forced towards the door as he was drug out. "She's not properly dressed. You're already breaking rules."

"You haven't made the rules yet! Besides, Hermione sleeps in Bill's bed, so that's just not fair." Ginny protested before grinning to herself, feeling happiness well up. Her mother gave her a glare over her outburst and she turned to show the blood in her hair to try deflect any sort of retaliation.

She failed, "You just got yourself a very specific rule, Ginevra. Several in fact."

"Can I kiss her goodnight?" He was trying to be a good sport about this, though Ginny was quite amused by his confusion. She wasn't exactly sure herself just what Tonks had gotten them into, all she knew was that her Mum had eloped to avoid a formal courtship.

Mrs. Tonks argued, "Oh let him Molly, I didn't bother with the rules myself. Neither did you."

"Arthur didn't ask to formally court me." Her mum said very primly and Ginny wanted to roll her eyes at the double standards.

Tonks was snickering to herself, completely unrepentant. "Ginny, you realize this means he has to beat all of your brothers in single combat, right? This is going to be so hilarious. I can't wait to see what each of them picks."

"Bloody hell." They said it in unison, so horrified Mrs. Weasley allowed a goodnight kiss, chaste and sweet.

"Can he take it back?" Ginny asked in desperation.

"No." Her mum said, "He officially asked so it's probably already on file with the Ministry."

He shook his head and pecked her again, his eyes very bemused as to just what Tonks had gotten them into. "Sleep tight, sweetheart."

She beamed back at him as he left, then glared at Tonks, "I really don't like you right now. This is just mean."

"Relax, I'm doing you a favor and he'll be fine. Molly found out about the dragon incidents and was talking about chastity belting you or sending you to Switzerland." Tonks was still grinning as she explained. Ginny groaned in response. Tonks tried for cheer, "You get presents, Ginny!"

"I don't want forced presents." She protested.

"Yes you do, take this potion for your leg." Tonks shoved the bottle at her.

Pause and she reconsidered, she really did love opening things. "What kind of presents are we talking about?"

* * *

"You look so beautiful." Bill told Hermione as they settled on the blanket and she smoothed her sundress out, trying not to fuss with the hair Ginny had so carefully smoothed into waves and pinned partially back. She immediately started taking off the wedges Ginny had somehow convinced her to try and manage the beach in.

"Thank Ginny." She was blushing, he hadn't stopped staring at her the entire walk to the cove. She pulled her shawl closer at the light breeze, thinking he'd picked a perfect spot.

"Oh, I will." He told her, fiddling with the champagne bottle and passing her glasses from the picnic basket.

"Champagne? Who planned this?" She teased him eyeing just how nice he looked, he'd gotten dressed up as if this was a real date not just a picnic, the blue of his french cuff shirt making his eyes pop even more than normal.

"I did," He sounded defensive for a moment, "I thought you might want to celebrate not having to take potions anymore."

"That is a reason to celebrate." She assured him and he popped the champagne. "To be fair I think you just ran out of biscuits to give me and I've been banishing the blankets when I've got our wand."

He laughed and she held out a glass to fill, he filled them then frowned, lifting her arm and turning it slightly. He kissed it softly and the glamour charm Ginny had done over the word there disappeared and she felt the others go as well, his magic ghosting over her skin. His voice ached. "Please don't do that."

She fiddled with the champagne glass, she'd just wanted to look pretty for him, wanted to look whole. Her words weren't quite an apology, "I just wanted you to see me, not the scars."

Bill touched her face, tilting her chin up. "I always see you, and I like you just the way you are." A soft kiss.

She managed a faint smile, still slightly embarrassed. "Easy for you to say, yours are barely noticeable."

He shook his head at her, "Love, I look like Mad Eye did. You're just used to them." He held up his glass, "To the marks you carry."

She didn't lift hers, his other hand traced along the scar across her sternum from Dolohov. "To loyalty." His fingers moved to her forearm, grazing the word, "To being unbreakable." A ghost over the small mole on her shoulder, "To beauty." She trembled slightly as his fingers grazed the small bruise on her neck he'd left the night before during a rather enthusiastic goodnight kissing session, "To being loved."

"Cheers." She softly clinked her glass against his, her stomach trembling at his words, they hadn't said them yet quite so directly. Sure, he called her love and had told her indirectly that he'd fallen awhile ago, but 'I love you' didn't quite seem enough to encapsulate what this was between them. It couldn't capture the feelings she felt flowing between them in the magic, had no way to describe how it felt to be so cherished in his mind or the pure contentment of being engulfed in his arms, no words for the tingles of watching him grope the bed while asleep searching for her if she went for water. Four letters weren't big enough to encase the challenge she felt when Bill started a particularly clever pun war, nor the simpleness of tapping his wrist to turn the page as they read the same book curled together.

He refilled their glasses and dug around in the picnic basket and handed her a book, "I'll set up dinner. Here, I think you might like this."

She took it and set it aside, dates weren't a time for reading. Even she knew that. "Let me help."

He saw it and stilled, coming back to settle down next to her. "Let's watch the sunset first and I'll read it to you. Unless you're starving?"

She shook her head and took another sip of champagne as he settled down against the boulder, pulling her against his chest. He placed the book in her lap, flipping to the marked page. She glanced at it, poetry, and settled back into him more comfortably to watch the lowering red sun turn the sky into a painter's dream and bathe the cove in an aura of beauty. He began reading the poems on the page softly in her ear and her insides trembled again at the love filling his voice. She sighed in contentment, Bill had such a strong voice and years of reading bedtime stories had honed the animation in his tones to where she was simply swept away. "That last poem is beautiful, Bill. Read it again for me?"

She leaned up and kissed him softly, swallowing his agreement. It was long and sweet and when she pulled away his eyes were unguarded, "It's not a poem, Hermione." His hand flipped the page back and her stomach flipped at the chapter title, eyes blurring with the first words, 'Handfasting is still widely practiced…'

His words were soft, "It's a wedding vow." His voice dripped in nervousness, cutting into a pause and she waited for him to go on, just hearing something dropped on the book instead. He swallowed. "I've given you my heart and would be honored if you would take my hand as well."

She looked down and saw a ring on the book and her heart stopped and tears started to edge her eyes, her mind rushing with sudden, overwhelming joy, a million thoughts fluttering and only one crystallizing. "Bill, I want to." They ran over. "But I can't. It's too dangerous."

Still her fingers were picking it up, eyeing the pearl they'd found while shucking shellfish for dinner a few days ago. It was set on a slim gold band, a crown of jewels underneath it, barely visible from the top. Bill's voice was low as he tried to convince her, "Love, we're both wanted with prices on our heads. We're already in as much danger as we can manage on our beach."

She didn't say anything, her factual Bill was technically right. It wasn't as if a known Order member and blood traitor was any less safe than she was. His fingers ghosted over hers, touching the different stones. "Moonstone for memory, opals for fire, diamonds for eternity." He turned the ring so she could see inside at the heart underneath the setting, gently clasped by hands engraved from tiny runes, "They're the crown of the claddagh. I'm giving you my love, my loyalty and my friendship." His laugh was shaky, "And a lot of protection runes mixed in between the others. Couldn't help myself."

Tears flooded her eyes as he turned it and slipped it on her unresisting hand, "How? It's so perfect."

"We've got a goblin in our house, love, and I have quite a bit of treasure." His voice was choked as he tried for flippant.

"I didn't say yes. It's not our house, it's yours." She protested weakly, already turning to kiss him.

"Not aloud you didn't, but your heart is trembling with it and yes it is our home. Unless you want a different one." He murmured kissing her, hand winding in her carefully done hair, smiling against her lips. When he pulled away it was abrupt, "Please say it, I need to hear it."

She let out a choked laugh, "Yes, I'll marry you."

His face lit up in a huge grin and he kissed her again, hand wobbling the ring and she could feel his excitement running through them both, hers only heightening it. She was marrying Bill Weasley. She was breathless by the time he pulled back, "Should we do it before or after dinner? Or do you want a long engagement? I can summon Charlie or we can-"

She laughed at his eagerness, her own happiness brimming over into him. "After dinner. Shouldn't we be engaged for more than ten minutes?"

"Whatever my very beautiful fiancee wants. I'm going to cram calling you fiancee in as many times as possible." He smacked her with a kiss, let go of her to start pulling out food and she watched him in a state of giddy happiness she'd never felt before. Bill would in fact manage to call her by her new title under various adjectives every time he spoke and each time her heart soared with it.

They fed each other the finger foods, kissing, sipping champagne, laughing for no reason. Bill confessed he had a whole speech, but got too nervous. She demanded to see it and he adamantly denied her, protesting that she would correct it. She argued she wouldn't touch a word even if he'd misspelled something and his eventual concession, "I'll say it on our first anniversary, how about that?"

She wasn't sure she could wait that long, but she also thought she could find it before then, "I accept your terms, Mr. Weasley."

A thought drifted in after his lips pulled away and she nibbled on the strawberry he held to hers, "I…well I sort of want it be just us. I never wanted a big wedding and without my parents here…"

He paused and squeezed her. "We're back to nobody sees, huh?" She smiled at him, at the words they'd said to each other so many times, "We'll handfast ourselves and in a year and a day your mum and my mum can go crazy with the big wedding and we can hate it and remember ours."

"Sounds perfect." She grinned against his chest, finding it hilarious what her younger self would think about eloping on a beach. She'd frown and call it nonsensical, while now it was simply right.

He picked the book back up, "Let's look at vows."

"I want the last one you read." She told him immediately and saw him smile, felt him soar through the whisper that was the last of their latch. It was his favorite too, that was why he'd saved it to be right before he asked, she'd just beat him to the punch.

"Good, half of them on the next page have you saying you'll obey me and we both know you'd break that vow before we were back down the aisle." He was matter of fact about it and she laughed and kissed him with a whack to his shoulder.

As she watched him unpack the necessities from the basket she accused him, "You knew I was going to say yes! You wanted to do it tonight!"

"Yes and yes, love." He paused to wink at her, "Well, I hoped you'd say yes otherwise this would have been the worst first date in history."

"I can't believe this our first date and we're getting married." She giggled.

"Yeah, Charlie's a bit bummed. He bet Fred our first date would be a museum. He's the only one that knows what we're up to, hope you don't mind." Another wink as he pulled her up by the hand and she made a little noise of outrage that her soon to be brother-in-laws were betting on her. Bill was setting a small driftwood fire up closer to the water.

She glanced down, realizing every option of dress Ginny had brought had been a shade of white as she went to help him, "Ginny was really insistent on this particular dress and told me according to London shops white was the only thing in fashion for beaches."

"She just thought I was going to propose and got a little excited. Your ring is Ginny approved, by the way." His wand lit the driftwood and when he turned back and straightened up he was holding a bouquet. "A bride should have flowers."

She kissed him and took them, carefully selecting a particularly delicate stephanotis and tucking it into a pin in her hair and gently put the rest back in the picnic basket.

Just minutes later she was holding his hands as the last moments of twilight drifted around them, standing at the edge of the ocean, her feet dug deeply into the sand, water brushing them with the tide, wind softly come off the water to blow her hair. Bill was serious as he asked, "Are you sure?"

She nodded and he glanced at the book he'd set to levitate so they could read the vows flickering in the firelight, his voice steady as he started the verse and they fell into an alternating pattern, hands squeezing gently, elements rising, magic softly beginning to swirl around them in a new pattern.

"The wind will always blow me to you,

"The earth will hold me steadfast at your side,

The fire in me will burn for you alone,

The water of mine will quench your thirst,

My heart will grow under your care,

My soul will cherish our time,

My body will shield yours,

My home will be where you lay,

When there is pain I will bear it,

When there is no harvest I will stay,

When there is laughter I will rejoice,

When there are seeds I will grow them."

She'd started tearing up at some point and Bill's blue eyes had gone from his usual ocean to simply neon with happiness. He let go of one of her hands, turning the other over and pulling the dagger he'd slung in his belt, barely scraping her hand. "I bind myself to you. I give you my life."

She took it, feeling his magic move closer around her, swirling against her skin like a thousand kisses, she pricked his hand, her own magic going to encase him. "I bind myself to you. I give you my love."

She dropped the knife as he took her hand, pressed the cuts together, his magic suddenly poured into her very being and flooded through her blood, twisting and rushing the latch that wasn't quite released. She swayed, he blinked and they both fumbled for the small tartan rags he'd brought and bound their clasped hands. With the second knot, the tide pouring through them became blinding, Bill's emotions and hers searing them both, blasting away the whisper at the edge of her mind into something completely new. He was hers, she was his. He steadied her as she stumbled into him, needing the physical closeness to mirror just what they now shared. "Holy.."

"Oh my." Was all she could manage in response, this was more and less intense than their latch. She could simply feel Bill, feel his surprise and joy and knew in her bones this wouldn't fade, his thoughts may be hidden, but he wasn't. His lips found hers and she fluttered her own happiness back at him in test. How long they kissed simply reveling in each other's joy she wasn't sure, but by the time they'd stopped the moon had come out to play and Bill's pants were getting soaked by the rising tide. She glanced down at their entangled hands to see she'd simply still been clutching his, the tartan binding now a bracelet of fabric on each of their wrists. His gaze followed hers, "I think it falls off after the handfasting period." Then he gave her a smiled that glowed with happiness.

"May I have this dance, Mrs. Weasley?" He asked before setting the wand to play the only song they'd ever danced to before at a Weasley Christmas.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley." She murmured, grinning like a fool at the new name. He moved them gently about, twirling in the surf with her head against his chest, still stealing kisses, still testing the new emotional awareness. This was perfection: her husband's arms, the unfamiliar sensation of her ring, the old familiarity of a bracelet he'd given her the day his heart recognized hers and the spray of the crashing tide on their beach ghosting over her skin.

"We don't have to tell anyone. It can be just us, love." He murmured against her hair.

"I want to." She told him excitedly, the surreal giddiness in her heart flaring. She was married, married to the man who when first spied approaching the Burrow she'd thought him disconcertingly good looking and probably far too aware of it, but had let Ginny drag her by the hand in her excitement. When introduced, she had blushed and he had winked at her as he quoted a line from the Shakespeare play her name come from, "Tongue tied, our queen? Speak you." Perhaps he'd unknowingly laid claim to her heart then, as she'd died in a mixture of impressed astonishment and embarrassment. Perhaps not, but it was his now all the same.

"Want everyone?" He smiled into her hair and when the song ended a very busy patronus was sent off in rapid fire missives.

Charlie got the message of "She said yes, throw the party."

The current denizens of Shell Cottage got "Celebration by the cave."

At Muriel's, Mrs. Weasley let out a startled scream at a popping noise, looking around intently and as Fred came to grab her she would be glancing back at her clock which seemed to be growing a new hand.

Ginny would reach them first, sprinting ahead of the boys and flinging herself at them, shrieking with joy. "I can't believe you're engaged!"

Bill grinned as he steadied her and Hermione too excited to contain herself would simply scream at Harry and Ron, carrying the cake a few paces behind. "I got married!"

An extremely dexterous goblin saved the cake from smashing into the sand, Ron's voice completely startled. "Blimey!"

Harry too looked bewildered so she yelled it at them again, Harry recovered first, straightening the cake from Griphook, yelling back despite the fact they were just feet away. "Congratulations!"

There was laughter and hugs and the boom boom of fireworks going off from the apparition point would indicate the twins arrival, wheels running down the beach preceding them as multiple cracks were heard. Bill whispered to her and she nodded. He commanded the others, "Let us surprise them, they think it's an engagement party."

"Mum's going to bloody flip." Ron stated, before taking off at a run back to the cottage.

"Where are you going?" Hermione called.

"To get the camera!"

* * *

Charlie was sprinting down a portrait hole into the Room of Requirement, surprising its residents and ordering, "Someone go get McGonagall."

"What's wrong?" Neville asked as Seamus took off at a run.

He took a breath, "Nothing. Just thought she'd want to be at the party."

"What?" Parvati asked, perking up with her love of gossip. There had been no cheer at Hogwarts for so long.

"For Bill and Hermione." He took another deep breath.

"What?" Lavender exclaimed, "Not Ron? She got the hot brother?"

He blinked at her and Parvati blushed for her, but her voice carried as she tried to whisper furiously, "I thought this was the hot brother?"

Charlie grinned and Neville shook his head at the two of them. Charlie happily told them, "I can hear you."

She flushed and he winked. "I'm Charlie, quite a flattered Charlie. Always love beating Bill at things."

Before she could think of anything to say the door flung back open with Seamus and a rather tense looking McGonagall. "Charlie, what's wrong?"

"I love when you use my first name, Minerva." He drew her name out into a drawl, "I'm here to escort you to a party."

"Mr. Weasley I don't agree with your ideas of partying." She looked utterly exasperated with him and it brought back so many memories of when she'd given him that look as a student.

"Bill's throwing a shindig to celebrate the fact Hermione actually wants to put up with him for the rest of her life." He told her offering her his arm, twinkling at her. "I rather think they'd like you to make an appearance. They're both incredibly fond of you."

Her eyes widened, then softened and she took his arm, "Very well then, Weasley. Students, do try not to destroy the castle while I'm gone and go to Professor Flitwick if any issues occur."

He grinned and began to escort her. Sometime later Aberforth would send down quite a large amount of firewhiskey as a present from the new Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, gruffly explaining it was not just an engagement party.

"Hermione got married on a beach?" Lavender would say stunned.

"She eloped?" Parvati would say equally as astounded.

"Still… the hot one?" Lavender sounded rather distressed at the idea. "Hermione got married before me?"

"That means Krum is still available, Lav. I want the brother that came, think he'll bring McGonagall back? Oooh, do my makeup." Parvati told her.

"Parvati, go tell the Fat Lady and listen to her talk about whatever stories she has about Ron's brother. You know she'll yell at all of us and change the password if she hears the gossip from someone else." Seamus shook his head at them.

Neville smothered a smile, knowing it was jealousy driving Seamus to hopefully keep Parvati away from the room if Ron's hot brother came back. "You know she's been worried about them on the run and fondly recalls Ron's brothers. Maybe she'll settle the debate over who's hottest for you two."

"Oooh, she would love that. The makeup is up there anyway, come on, Lavender." They left, mouths running a mile a minute, excited to impart very juicy gossip.

* * *

Bill was holding her tightly to his side, stealing a kiss as Charlie and Percy filled everyone's glasses with flicks of their wands. He waited, murmuring at her to make sure she wasn't cold in the breeze. When Charlie raised his, Bill grinned, "Thank you all for coming on such short notice. We'll get to dancing, but before that I'd like to make a toast to my beautiful bride."

There was a moment before the words sunk in, then a glass dropped and shock echoed on almost everyone's faces. Bill kissed her forehead before going on, "Don't worry Mum, we handfasted so you and Hermione and her Mum still get to have the big wedding that will empty our vault. Tonight is the wedding I wanted to give her." He paused to kiss her lips and there were multiple sniffles from the female audience, "I'd like to thank everyone who helped knowingly or unknowingly to create it. Your refreshments are provided by Charlie, who'll have to make a speech next time. My bride's beauty only enhanced by Ginny's handiwork, who will also have to make a speech. Entertainment courtesy of Fred and George, whom she loves to scold. A beautiful ring made courtesy of Griphook. Her wedding cake made by the two men I can never compete with, Harry and Ron. Even if it was begrudgingly done."

Ginny and Mrs. Weasley were sniffling as everyone else laughed. "I'm a very lucky man for a woman whose beauty and spirit so outstrips my own-"

"Bill, stop." She flushed leaning to hide in his chest, she did not want a long speech about herself.

"She's already bossing me around and I love it." He pecked her and grinned at the crowd, "There's a reason we picked vows that didn't have obey in them on either side, neither my indomitable bride or myself listen well."

There was laughter and he raised his glass and looked at her, "To being granted the honor of sharing my life with this wonderful, clever, beautiful, kind,-"

"Cheers!" Charlie cut him off and started clinking glasses and Hermione laughed, peeking back to give him a smile in thanks and squeezing Bill's side. She started as fireworks started to go off all around them and saw the twins grinning.

She sipped out of his glass and he hers as they were rushed with well wishers and music started up from the wireless. As Bill twirled with his crying mother, she spinned with Harry. "Did you have any idea? Are you ok with it?"

Harry shook his head, "No, Bill just told us to make your favorite cake without magic and to write 'Congratulations, Hermione' on it and kept hassling us all afternoon about it." He grinned at her, "And yes, I'm so happy for you, but I'll still happily hex him on your behalf anytime you want."

She laughed, she'd known they'd hashed out apologies and were polite, but wasn't sure how much Harry had forgiven Bill. "Thank you. He said he thought about asking you for my hand, but decided to hunt down the information and call my dad at work." She grinned at him, "He hassled him too, considering my dad doesn't know I exist. He harassed him until he got him to say that if he had a daughter he could marry her just to get Bill to stop calling on repeat."

"Bill is something else." Harry told her and she gave a tiny frown, "A good something else, especially where you're concerned. I still can't believe you got married, but I'm flattered he thought to ask me." Harry smiled, "He asked the right person though. You."

She nodded happily, unable to stop the smile at Harry's acceptance, "I told him no at first."

"Why am I not surprised?" Harry shook his head, his eyes involuntarily drifting over at Ginny's laugh. She squeezed his shoulder. "It'll all work out how it should, Harry."

"I want her to be happy." He gave her a weak smile.

She went on, "It's just courting, which is one of those wizarding customs that you and I find sheerly alarming."

"What's it this time? Attempting to drown each other to prove you're not a squib?" Harry laughed, they had shared so many startled looks of confusion over the years at the words coming out of Ron's mouth.

"If Ginny decides she doesn't want him after they've had the traditional breakfast, lunch and dinner dates, Bill is supposed to cut his finger off to warn other girls he's failed once. Bill was completely nonchalant about how you really just cut a chunk out these days."

"Tell Bill to not shirk his brotherly duties." Harry joked, cheering at the prospect of it, as the song ended and she was passed off to Ron.

Ron was genuine, but a touch melancholy. "You look beautiful. You're glowing."

"Thank you." She felt a small pang and opened her mouth to apologize, but Ron shook his head.

"Don't. I've decided our bickering is now chalked up to sibling banter, the way I picked on Ginny so much she wrote Mum." Ron's voice wasn't quite normal and she leaned against his chest to give him his privacy. It wasn't perfect, but it would be and he gave her a small squeeze in reassurance.

He recovered, "Does this mean we're bringing Bill?"

"No." She told him, "We started it, we'll finish it. Just let me have a few days with him while we work out the kinks in the plan."

He nodded against her head and gave her a squeeze, "He'll be pissed, 'Mione. I don't want you two starting off on a bad-"

Charlie was cutting in, "My turn! My turn!"

Charlie was a rather enthusiastic dancer, his excitement infectious even as he teased her. "I was all ready to come marry you! Look at me, I'm even wearing a blazer."

"I'm sorry, Charlie. We just wanted well-"

"-I know. Sorry, you didn't get a hen night, he gave me just enough warning to arrange the brotherly tattoo debacle. Please tell Ginny that's why she wasn't invited, she's still giving everyone grief over it."

She smiled, "I will and I'm sure I'll go out with Gin sometime to make up for it."

"I'm your favorite brother, right? I'm the one he practiced proposing on. Your ring doesn't fit me though." Charlie spun her, "Did he drop it?"

"Put it on a book and I didn't get the speech." She laughed back at him.

"Shame that is. We worked really hard on that part."

Then she was twirling with Fred, dodging between the plethora of fireworks that were the light at her reception, "George went back for more, little sister."

"Oh dear. Do I get the family discount now?" She teased.

"The 'everyone but Ron' discount? You already had it, Granger."

"It's Weasley now." She teased back.

More explosions and fireworks happened around her and she started, grabbed by a grinning George, not even bothering to wait for a new song. "Congratulations! Sorry we got the goblin drunk."

"What?" She queried and followed his eyes to where indeed Griphook was dancing erratically with a very disaproving Muriel, Fred heading over to rescue her, cracking up himself.

"Did anyone tell you Bill used to always make us play wedding when Ginny wanted to? Fred and I always got stuck as ring boy and flower boy."

She laughed, "No flower girl?"

"Ginny didn't get the fact other little girls existed until she was four and saw one then freaked out. She was with your Bill who I warn you, will placate your future twins with candy and ice cream."

"We are not having twins." Hermione told him firmly, horrified at the thought of mini Fred and George's blowing things up.

"Yes you are and you're going to name them after us!" Fred called at her with a wink.

"You never know, love. There's been at least one set every generation for as far back as the Prewett line goes." Her husband stole her away for a rest to ensure his brothers were being nice.

"Wish you would have told me that before we got married." She swatted at him. He kissed her in response, she pulled back. "Did Ginny really think that?"

"Oh completely. She was always at home, all of our cousins are male and she was fussed over so much for being the first girl in generations she thought she was it. When I took her and Ron for a treat at Florean's she saw another little girl and chased her, poking her trying to see if she was real. Then just freaked and threw her ice cream everywhere." He pointed at Charlie and Ginny, bottle of firewhiskey in hand, who seemed to be just flailing around in a strange hopping pattern. "What are they doing?"

"I think they're dancing." She said. "But I really can't tell."

"Traveller wedding jig for good luck! Get over here." Charlie yelled at them as Fred enthusiastically joined in the hopping pattern, George following. "Are we jumping over hats?"

"I think he's pulling our chain." She told Bill laughing.

"No I'm not! Percy, get them over here." She would be drug by her last new brother, who kept formally congratulating them, dragging her laughing husband behind.

* * *

"Hermione, I want you to know if you have any questions about tonight you can ask us." Mrs. Weasley kindly told her, sipping sherry and smiling at Tonks and Professor McGonagall who both nodded. Hermione shared a look with Ginny to try and not flinch.

Tonks eyed Bill before advising her, "Bill's a big bloke, do the anti-pain charm." She smiled, "Seriously, when I lost it felt like I was being ripped in half. Though he tried to be gentle, neither of us knew what we were doing."

"Don't scare her, Tonks. It's a beautiful thing, Hermione." Mrs. Weasley scolded, then tried to soothe.

"Yeah, after the first time. Word of advice, don't try it on a broom, you'll get splinters and fall off." She winked, Professor McGonagall exclaiming, "Nymphadora!"

"Though dragon back is fun." She went on.

Ginny looked rather speculative at that, Mrs. Weasley scolding as she eyed her daughter, "Nymphadora!"

"Kidding, Molly." Tonks said, though her eyes twinkled at them both before she fiddled with the charm on her necklace. "Hermione, what did Bill get you for a claiming gift? Those earrings?"

"A what?" She asked in utter confusion and Tonks frowned.

"To make sure he doesn't- oh hell, I need to go to talk to Remus. Don't worry, I'll take care of it." She rushed off and Hermione felt a lot more unsettled than when the conversation had begun.

* * *

"May I?" Bill asked reaching out for little Teddy as Remus congratulated him, tiny baby being passed.

"Bill, take a short walk with me?" Remus asked, swirling his drink and Bill agreed, peering at the little wrapped bundle with changing hair.

They walked in silence away from the reception, Remus breaking it with a glance back. "Dora's distressed that Hermione didn't know what a claiming charm was. Now, I don't know just how strong that urge for you is, but I heard they had to hex your hands. I believe your brothers are now developing a new product line around it to market at protective mothers."

"Strong." Bill admitted, he was never going to live the hex thing down and if the twins referenced him at all in the product line they weren't going to have a store anymore. "Being near her during the moon was pretty much a disaster. I wanted her to be mine so badly, but was afraid I'd hurt her."

"Make her one before the next full then." Remus advised gently, "You're rather feared after the news of Greyback and it'll not only help you keep control, but will keep any others from trying to come after her like he did."

"The books aren't clear on exactly what it does other than keep someone from changing their partner and marking them as owned." Bill murmured, which wasn't exactly a problem in his case and his little bundle made a sleepy noise. Hermione would not like the connotation at of ownership at all.

"Depends on who makes it." Remus said, glancing out to sea. "The one Dora wears keeps me from getting too possessive, she demanded that portion after I punched Mad-Eye. Though he'd been- well it doesn't matter now." He cleared his throat self consciously, "It throws up a shield charm if I lose control and try to bite during certain moments." He smiled, "It may take some tinkering, Bill. Mine was initially a little too strong in its restrictions and the shield charm flung me across the room when I was just- well, Dora was very amused." He shook his head, "I'll advise you from trying to add a protection indicator, Dora's is just stuck on mortal peril."

"Sounds like my Mum's clock." Bill said, his thoughts starting to swirl around just what he was going to do about this. He didn't have a feeling Hermione was going to like the idea of having to wear extra jewelry that essentially said 'Mine, Mine, Mine'. Maybe she'd at least consent to it close to the moon.

"That's where I got the idea." Remus said and with a nod they began to make their way back down the beach.

"Necklaces or earrings are best, you might find you want it where you can always see it on her." Remus said softly, reaching out to take his son back. Bill relinquished the child, giving Hermione a smile from where she was watching him, completely ignoring whatever Ginny was saying to her.

Remus began a short technical description of what exactly it entailed to imbue the object and Bill listened intently, asked for a reference book and then settled. Hermione would have one whether she liked it or not, perhaps that single pearl on the tiny chain Griphook had set when he did the ring. Yes, that was always going to look perfect on her anyway.

"Thank you for the advice, Remus. Your help has been incredibly generous in dealing with everything." Bill squeezed his shoulder, Remus had been a rock throughout the past months as his blood shifted and changed. Had been a guide for so many others who went through much worse than Bill did, a mentor St. Mungo's called on whenever they had a new case.

Remus gave him a genuine smile, "Hermione is always welcome to come to myself or Dora with any questions. I know our situations are different, but Dora did have an adjustment period our first few moon cycles together. You know I become a right terror at the beginning of the week."

"I'll encourage that, perhaps they can commiserate. Hermione had called me a tyrant repeatedly by the time we were through the moon." Bill responded, thinking it would be easier if she had someone else who was also getting ordered about.

Remus laughed, "Dora will up her range of insults. Just wait until she's pregnant and then she's got hormones and you've got the moonmones, they'll constantly clash and you will lose and hate it. When Dora found out I'd asked Kingsley to put her on desk duty to keep her safe…the argument was explosive, in the literal sense."

Bill laughed, Charlie had warned Remus of her temper. "You two should come over for dinner soon."

"We might have to. Dora accidentally broke all of the china again in her excitement to get here, didn't she Teddy boy?" He talked to the baby who'd just woken up with a fuss and started to rock him. "Don't worry, Daddy will always fix things when your Mummy is her clumsy self."

Bill grinned as they parted in search of their respective wives, "You're welcome anytime that happens."

"I wouldn't be that generous." The final Marauder laughed.

* * *

She was taking a break and sitting with Bill wrapped up in their picnic blanket when Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley came back from a walk on the beach, looking very much in love themselves. Mrs. Weasley came over and held a shell out, "I've always considered you a daughter, Hermione, I'm so glad it's official."

Hermione took the shell and looked at it, seeing small words inscribed and two little tiny claws with their names on them. She felt tears rush her eyes and stood to hug Mrs. Weasley, who immediately started crying. "This one you can carry in your purse, it's nice to be able to always check. Especially once my grand babies come. I'll show you how to make one for the house when you figure out what you want your clock to say. You can only make it once, so think hard." She was rambling, "If I made mine again it would have 'making trouble' as option. No, no, all of my children would have just gone back and forth from there and I would have stormed Hogwarts."

Bill hugged her from behind, leaning over to kiss his mother's cheek, his voice suspiciously tight. "Thank you, Mum. It's perfect."

"More than perfect," Hermione agreed from where she was wedged and tested out a new name experimentally, "Thank you, Mum."

Mrs. Weasley's sobs increased and she clutched harder and Mr. Weasley would try and rescue them from her embrace. Their eventual savior would Percy, throwing his little sister under the bus in his attempts to help. "Mum, Ginny's down the beach snogging. I thought she needed a chaperone?"

"Bill!" His mother immediately started.

"It's my wedding day, Mum. I'm not playing chaperone." Bill told her and she marched off to do it herself.

"Thanks, but that's cruel, Perce." Bill said after she was out of earshot.

"All's fair in love and war." Percy said though he looked guilty.

There was a loud screech of "Mum! We were just talking!"

"Ginevra what's that on your neck?" Another screech. "And you-"

"Poor Ginny." Hermione leaned back into Bill, watching as Muriel marched off to help corral one of the two redheads. "I want to get her a thank you present for everything she did tonight."

"What? Like offer her sanctuary at Shell?" Bill joked, before soothing, "We'll get her something nice and my dear wife, you now qualify as a formal chaperone."

"We've already got a lunch date with them for three days from now." Hermione informed him.

"Always one step ahead of me, love."

* * *

"C'mon." Bill didn't even apologize to his aunt as he grabbed his wife, dragging her off in excitement, champagne bottle in hand. "I want to see this."

"See what?" She asked, stumbling as they slid around the side of a cave and peered two figures.

He dropped his voice, "I think Charlie is about to make a giant fool of himself. Oh, I should have grabbed Perce for this. We've teased him for years."

She eyed him, took a sip of the champagne then peeked her head around the edge under his at Charlie's voice.

Charlie's voice was carrying, "Let me escort you home, Minerva."

"I'm perfectly capable." She told him, looking slightly unsteady.

"No, Minerva, I have to take you back and take the location away. We can look at the house plays Ginny was working on." Charlie's voice was strangely excited and she shook her head.

"I rather think you shouldn't be doing any memory charms tonight." She told him and refused to take his offered arm.

"Isn't it tradition to give your escort a goodnight kiss?" Charlie asked cheekily and Bill shoved a hand over her mouth to stifle her gasp as Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes at him and held out her hand. Charlie kissed it then leaned in and kissed her and Bill's hand dropped when it didn't end immediately, his voice by her ear thrilled. "Godric. He's really going for it."

Professor McGonagall pulled away and slapped him, "Charles Weasley! I never-"

Charlie was just grinning, "I've wanted to do that for years. Years."

She seemed momentarily flummoxed, before patting his shoulder firmly and stepping back with a light blush. "You're decades too young, Charl- Mr. Weasley. Goodnight."

Bill was in clutches, his face buried in her hair, while she simply kept murmuring into his chest, "What? What?"

"Teacher's crush once he got made quidditch captain, I found out when he got real jealous over Percy having detention with her." He managed to tell her in pure mirth. "He still volunteers for every mission with her."

Charlie had heard them and threw Bill a thumbs up. "Worth the wait. She tongued." He promptly got smacked again and his companion headed for the apparition point at a brisk walk, not looking at anyone.

"Merlin's hat." Hermione managed, still rather in shock.

"When's the happy occasion, Mr. McGonagall?" Bill grinned back and let go of her to catch Charlie as he launched himself at him in mock assault and started pummeling him.

* * *

"Congratulations again, Bill." His dad said, clinking his glass of firewhiskey and Bill looked away from where Hermione was cuddling Teddy as she talked to Tonks and Ginny. She looked beautiful like that, face soft as she cooed and snuggled.

"Thanks, Dad." He glanced around, people were either getting completely obliterated or tired. "I almost told you the other day, but then thought you might try and talk me out of it."

"I might have." His father admitted, "Wouldn't have expected the two of you to go from zero to sixty."

"You eloped yourself and I know she's it." Bill took a sip, musing that wasn't the only reason. "Dad, this may be personal, but for you and Mum is your magic bundled? Something happened at the end of our vows and we're tied up again, emotions brushing."

His father shook his head, "Our magic at times, yes, our emotions, not more than normal I don't think. Were you two fully unlatched?"

"No. Perhaps, that's it." Bill said, he'd done that on purpose, hoping for something like this in a rather guilty fashion. He'd gotten so used to feeling her and was certainly looking forward to the side effects he'd feel later tonight. He glanced up instinctively, checking the phase at the soft animal flare of anticipation in him. He'd be fine.

His dad's eyes followed his, "Worried?"

He took another sip and shook his head, "Not for tonight, no."

The magic pulled at him, the itch increasing to finish their binding. She felt it too and glanced up, meeting his eyes and passing the baby back to his mother. "I'm going to steal her off, tell everyone they can stay as long as they want and the boys to sleep in the cave tonight. Griphook is already passed out in there."

"Of course." He clapped his dad on the back and set down his glass, going to give her a kiss and pulled her into one last dance, edging her farther and farther from the group and still floating fireworks.

She lifted her head, "Should we make a run for it, you think? I heard Fred and George whispering about the chasing."

"How easily do you blush?" He asked, kissing her forehead. "They'll catch us, Percy's on lookout duty."

"Let's run." She told him and grabbed his hand.

They didn't make it very far before the teasing started. Fred's voice calling down the beach, "Bill's in a rush to get his new access card!"

"He needs to check out some books!" George called, the footsteps coming in pursuit to escort them as an honor guard. Bill found himself starting to laugh, checking on her and seeing a faint blush, though her light run slowed and he squeezed her hand, glad she was willing to let them have a little fun.

"Stop it boys!" Mrs. Weasley scolded them.

"No, it's tradition. He's going to break into that womb!" Charlie yelled, pounding behind them.

"You better spend a lot of time in the Charms section!" Harry feet smashing as he looked apologetically at Hermione. She smiled back.

"You wouldn't want to rush through a good read." Ron tried with a glance at Harry for approval.

"Bill's going to steal her greatest treasure!" Charlie was trying to cut them off.

"Library theme, get with the program, Charlie." Fred harassed him and Hermione laughed beside him as they swerved to avoid to Fred.

"Hermione if you get a nine month late fee you know what that means!" Charlie tried again, bumping Bill's shoulder.

"What?" Percy asked in confusion, sand flying.

"That's she's pregnant, you dunce."

"You really should try again, Charlie." Percy told him, "Nobody got that."

"I don't see you trying." Bill shook his head at their antics, squeezing her hand and noticing how red she was becoming.

Percy pushed them slightly off course, "Bill, you better not try and return this book."

"I won't!" He told them as another firework set off right in front of them, causing Bill to simply grab her back, pick her up and dodge it. The running of the bride was in full swing.

"Bill, try not to spill too much ink when it's closing time!" Fred cut them off again. Hermione completely flushed and he squeezed her, upping his pace in earnest, dodging around him.

"There's a limit to how many items you can have checked out at once!" George screamed throwing himself in the way.

"Hermione, get ready-" Ginny screamed as she and Tonks joined the group.

"-because you just gave him a permission slip-" Tonks sounded evil.

"To your restricted section." They screamed it together, cutting off Bill's progress and Bill almost dropped her, his own laughter too strong and Hermione just overflowing with her own, scolding echoing back down the beach as Ginny got sanctioned by her mother and Tonks' husband told Teddy his mother would never change.

They were almost to the threshold, Hermione was bright red with embarrassment and laughter. He paused and kissed her as someone flung the door open with a spell, "May I escort you home, Mrs. Weasley?"

She smiled up at him and he stepped over it and she reached out and promptly slammed the door in all of their faces. Laughter echoed from the other side, Charlie and Ron's continued attempts to be considered clever echoing as he carried her up the stairs. "They'll be at it just for a few more minutes, love."

Her blush was fading then came back, "Aren't they supposed to harass until they've got well, a sign? My clothes or something."

"Yes, but they won't. Charlie promised to take them away and if he doesn't Mum and Dad will drag them off."

This soothed her and he eased the bedroom door open and she gasped and he grinned. Ginny had done a great job, candles floating and small vases of flowers scattered across the bookcases and bedside tables. He set her down and there was a boom and he turned protectively to shield her. A glance revealed a firework, hanging in the air of two rings intertwined and burned away leaving a shell. Hesitantly, they approached it and when Bill tried to grab it, it zoomed from him. Hermione tried and it settled easily into her hand, she opened it and he peered over her shoulder as she opened it. Inside was a plain gold band and she smiled, "I didn't even realize I didn't give you a ring."

"Well you didn't know to get one, love." He told her trying for logical, feeling her happiness at the small goblin made gift as she dragged him to perching on the bed.

As she pushed the ring onto his finger, joy flared and she repeated the last line of their vows. "I give you my love." A deep breath as she glanced at the bed, anticipation and nervousness flaring down the bond to him. "I give you my body."

Excitement flared in him, love burning back at her as he kissed her. "A gift I'll always cherish." He pulled back to look into her eyes, his voice dropping. 'Now let me give you the gift of pleasure."

* * *

A/N: Two things here: The next chapter is strictly M, wedding night smoochies and more, you've been warned. Don't read it if you don't want explicit and if you've ever been a beta for something like that, let me know! I desperately need one.

Secondly, I will state I took a lot of liberty with the handfasting ceremony and mixed up cultures a bit. I can't take any credit (other than modernizing the English) for the vows, they're from my family's ancestry stuff. A few generations back a Cherokee bride stole away with a Scottish settler not terribly long before a dreadful march and those are the vows they used. I like them, so I used them.

Would love feedback and comments on this chapter, was definitely an interesting one to write and rewrite.


	21. First Awakenings

A/N: Thank you to everyone who added a follow and most especially those to who reviewed! WARNING: This Chapter is EXPLICIT M, not your cup of tea, completely skip it. This is just the wedding night and I'll warn you, I'm not a particularly strong smooches writer. Since I struggled with it, there's now a prequel for when their crushes started year by year. 'A drop in the ocean' and a random Bill fic up 'The Imperfect Eldest Brother'.

* * *

*********************WARNING EXPLICIT M AHEAD******************************

* * *

First Awakenings

As she pushed the ring onto his finger, joy flared and she repeated the last line of their vows. "I give you my love." A deep breath as she glanced at the bed, anticipation and nervousness flaring down the bond to him. "I give you my body."

Excitement flared in him, love burning back at her as he kissed her. "A gift I'll always cherish." He pulled back to look into her eyes, his voice dropping. 'Now let me give you the gift of pleasure."

* * *

Hermione's breath hitched at his words, at the promise in his ocean eyes as he leaned into kiss her again, slowly deepening it until she wound her arms around his neck. Bill's hands began to graze her sides, up and down, up and down, one going around her back as his lips moved to her ear, nibbling and kissing, before seriously whispering. "Love, if it's too fast or you need a break or want to stop, tell me. We've got the rest of our lives for this part."

She wasn't going to say a word to stop him, not after all of the begging she'd been doing to get him here. He kissed her ear, "Promise?"

"Yes." She murmured, before turning to kiss him then pulling back, another thought popping into her head that Bill might just hit her with the anti-pain charm without asking. "Bill, I don't want any charms tonight. I want this the natural way."

Bill seemed torn on it, something in his eyes flared in yes, but his mouth was frowning. "I don't want to hurt you, love, but it's your choice."

She smiled and leaned into kiss him, threading her fingers eagerly into his hair. He smiled against her lips, his assault beginning anew, hands grazing and groping until he pulled her across his lap to straddle him so he could tenderly trail kisses down her neck, across her collarbones, nip along the neckline of her sundress. She threw her hair back over her shoulders to give him better access to the tender flesh, one of his hands undoing the zipper down the back of her dress, his lips trailing along the ever dipping neckline. He slid his hands up under her dress, sliding along her bare skin and she gave a little moan of relief, she'd waited far too long to feel his calloused hands against just her. One slid around her bare back, pulling her more firmly onto his lap, before he slowly lifted her dress off, ocean eyes darkening as he watched each inch come into view. He threw her dress to the floor, eyes raking her in such an intense way she moved to cover her bra, but he caught her hands. "Beautiful. Mine."

He started kissing her collarbone again, hands trailing all over as he moved to her shoulder and down her bra strap, smattering kisses. She let out a small breath of sensation as his hair tickled around her, one of his hands undoing the clasp on her bra. He pulled back to slide it off and his breath hitched as he stared like a schoolboy seeing his first set. He'd been so careful with her privacy, charms, keeping her in her knickers, eyes always averted and now he was just moving her up onto the bed, laying her down. Eyes going from hers to her exposed chest. He began to kiss her again, love floating down the bond to her at his gentle touch, at the gentleness of the hand now circling and squeezing her breast, thumb grazing nipple again and again until it perked and she gave a little gasp. His lips left hers and began to trail down her neck, layering worshipful kisses all along the scar from Dolohov, sliding over to have his tongue slowly circle her other nipple, around and around until she wove her hands in his hair. He licked it several times before kissing it, sucking and nibbling and she gasped, arching into him at the sensation of being suckled one side and squeezed and pinched on the other. Her stomach was starting to curl with warmth, dampness spreading between her legs as he switched sides and repeated his introduction to his new toys.

One of his hands slid lower across her abdomen, grazing her sides, smoothing across belly, before slowly running fingers down over her panties, stroking softly. She let out another little moan of anticipation and he came back up for a kiss, she untangled her hands and scrabbled at his shirt buttons as he kept up running his hand over her, her legs falling wider apart for him. She pushed it off his shoulders and as he shrugged out of it, she oogled the hard muscles, flat abs, strong shoulders. She loved the bravery of his scars, the skin deep testament that did nothing to affect his strength, an altar of his selflessness from when he'd jumped without thinking for her. She leaned up and kissed them from his shoulder down across his chest, running her fingers lightly along the ones that went to his mid back. He smiled at her as he leaned her back to the bed, his fingers now dipping inside of her underwear in a completely foreign sensation for her. He kissed her lightly and went back to exploring her body with his lips, tracing each one of her scars, kissing them until Hermione felt beautiful under his care.

He was kissing her forearm reverently when his thumb started to circle her little nub of pleasure and she let out a gasp, causing him to smile against her arm. He dropped it and kissed her hotly, finger still circling and rubbing and as he slid his tongue into her mouth he slid a finger into her. Or tried to anyway, he frowned for a moment in surprise, "You've still got a hymen."

She blushed, "I'm not athletic enough to have lost it."

He nodded and kissed her again, moving the tip of his finger in and out, thumb circling and she felt herself getting warmer and warmer, beginning to flush. He slid another fingertip in and she felt discomfort, but he was gentle and insistent and that pooling heat in her lower belly started to become filled with tension. She rocked against his hand and he upped twisting her nipple with his other hand causing her to start making soft noises into his mouth. He kept his assault up, thumb twirling and flicking, tongue diving into her mouth. "Bill…"

He pulled back, looking into her eyes, "Let go for me, love."

She did, back arching, lower muscles of her body all fluttering lightly and fell into the sensation of having something to clench. He kissed his way down her body, hand hooked in her underwear, pulling it down off of her legs. He paused there and stared at her, naked before him, desire filled eyes and he quickly dropped his khakis. She stared at the large bulge in his boxer briefs and swallowed, suddenly wishing Bill wasn't quite such a brute of a man because she was pretty sure him being over a foot taller than her meant it was going to hurt like hell. He sensed her gaze and gave her a half smile as he crawled back on the bed, guiding her legs apart. "Relax, love. We're not there yet."

He kissed her thighs, fingers ghosting up and down them and she trembled, "Bill, what are you-"

He nuzzled farther up, tongue darting out and she cut herself off as the sensation rushed her. He kept stroking her thighs, tongue dipping into where his fingers had been and she let her head fall back at his exploration, at the vibrations coming from his groan. The sensation was overwhelming and she felt her nipples harden again at the soft nip, and let out a moan as he licked his way up to her bundle. His tongue was swirling over and around it, licking, sucking as his fingers went back to her entrance. She let out a cry as he nibbled at her, fingers in his hair pushing him closer as she rose her hips for more of him. He was sucking on her and licking at once and the fire in her belly was raging, swirling and twisting as he shifted his fingers to knuckles to try and stretch her more. She couldn't seem to catch a breath, panting and heaving, reduced to a mess of mews, his ocean eyes watching her progress as he reached down to pull off his last shred of clothing. She met his eyes in utter desperation, "Bill-"

His desire hit her through the bond and threw her from herself in shaky cries of his name, thighs trembling, hands clutched in bedsheets as he continued to lick and suckle as she tried to regain some sort of breath, which his continue ministrations were making very hard. He moved above her, crawling back and she stared at his eyes, the ocean under the night sky now and down his sculpted body to him and gulped. That wasn't going to fit. That was huge and Bill's fingers had felt too large. He kissed her softly and shifted himself between her legs, softly rubbing himself up and down and she tensed even more at feeling just how much was supposed to go into her. "I'll be gentle, love."

She kissed him, unsure what to do with her hands, but achingly wanting him, wanting to be joined with him. He ground slightly into that still taut bundle of her nerves and she let out a sound of desire, slid down and did it again and again to try and relax her. It worked, "Please."

"I love you." He whispered it, sliding himself up and down her slit one last time before pressing to her entrance.

"I love you. Kiss me?" She asked, feeling a flash of nervousness that he really wouldn't fit come back despite the haze of sensation she was lost in. He did, deeply and thoroughly until her tension faded, then softened it back to just hot open mouth kisses and slid himself a little farther until he was up against her barrier and she gave a little gasp at the sensation that was so much bigger than his fingers. She opened her eyes to find his lust darkened ones waiting for her permission, she nodded against his lips and he shoved himself into her. Her cry of pain swallowed by his groan of pleasure. She tried to focus on the pleasure she could feel from his side of them and not on the throbbing torn in half sensation of hers as he held himself above her letting her muscles adjust to him as he peppered her face with apologetic kisses. His other hand slid down between them, his thumb softly rubbing her little bundle of nerves to try and bring pleasure back to her. "I'm ok, you can um, move."

He moved himself further in, stretching a bit more, before pulling slowly back and beginning a rhythm of gentle, shallow thrusts, slowly moving deeper. It hurt being stretched and she knew a tear leaked out, but it slowly began to be ringed with something building at her edges on her side, not just the building pleasure on his. She experimentally began to try and move her hips with his and he adjusted to wrap one of her legs around him, lips moving to her neck to kiss hotly. She could feel her breath coming in pants again and he shifted the angle again she cried out in delight, there. He lifted his lips to kiss at her ear as he did it again, voice husky, "Good spot?"

She cried out again in response as he hit it again, feeling her need abruptly begin to spike as he focused there and all of the pain was gone. Their bond was pure pleasure now, building and sharing until there was no difference in filling or being filled, giving or taking. It flooded her and him and he was groaning into her mouth with each thrust and she was reduced to his name on repeat to try and remember which one she was. Nails digging into his shoulders and she clutched him deeper until she could barely remember and went tumbling off a cliff into waves and waves of pleasure, clenching Bill who hadn't jumped yet. She rode the orgasm with him and as hers came down, his started and she went back up as he poured himself into her with his erratic slams. Finally, he collapsed on top of her and she felt their magic shift, turn and lock. They were bound, magically and physically.

* * *

She was shaking against his chest, her sweaty curls moving up and down with his own heavy breathing, extreme satisfaction swirling back and forth between them. Happy contentment from part of him purring with the knowledge he had claimed her, she was his, only his. She spoke first, "Always like that?"

"Godric, I hope so. That was fantastic." He told her and reached over to shift the sweaty curls from her face. He had never experienced sex on that level of connectedness, never had the emotions or magic mixed in. He never wanted it any other way again.

She shifted and he looked down into her eyes, feeling her soft hesitation. "I was ok?"

"Love, you were more than perfect." He meant every single word of it and stared her down, shoving his happiness and contentment down the bond at her until she accepted it.

He groped for the wand, not finding it, just wandlessly flung the window open and one of her shoes flying out to where echoes of a quidditch match could be heard before the window slammed shut.

She blushed at the fact he just declared what they'd done, stroking his chest. "I thought practice makes perfect." She shifted and paused, reaching for the sheet, "But I guess we should clean up before we practice more."

He followed her gaze to where he still had a raging erection with streaks of their mess on it and her thighs, softly smeared with red and was slammed with a primal need so hard the bond shook. He caught her hand and stilled the sheet, he wanted it. He wanted to taste the triumph of his claim, needed to see her do it too, accept his ownership of her body. "Let me, love."

He headed for the bathroom to get a rag and some cool water and looked in the mirror at himself, trying to push that primal animal in him down. There was no way she was going to be ok with letting him lick her virginal blood, she was going to think he was insane. The animal need in him flared again and he kicked at it, taking the cool rag, but found he couldn't do it. Instead he wiped some of the sweaty curls from her forehead to try and conquer it again, but his eyes just kept going back to her thighs. Her voice was a command, "Bill, look at me."

He did, her doe eyes were firm, "Bill, when I married you, I married all of you."

His throat tightened and she took the rag away. "I know you need this. I can feel it." She paused testing, "I think I might need it too."

He leaned over and kissed her hard, tangling a hand in her hair in thanks, tugging it lightly before lowering her back to the bed and kissing his way eagerly down her body, only pausing to nip at each nipple. Their mingled smells were heavenly to his nose as he ran it along her thigh, inhaling before looking up to gage her reaction. She was watching him intently, but there was no disgust there, only confused anticipation. He kissed a smear and licked, reveling in the salty, tangy coppery brine flavor that meant she was only his. He took his time with her thighs, licking and kissing and nipping until she urged him, "Please."

He spread her legs wider and started the process of cleaning her with his tongue, swallowing her juices and thrusting up inside of her, swirling and hooking, running it along her slit and circling her clit, sucking and nipping before going back down and using his thumb up there. He was diligent in his attentions, not wanting to miss a drop. She was starting to move her hips against his efforts when he pulled away, he needed to be inside her soon. She needed him as close as she was, he wasn't going to last long as turned on as he was. He looked up, she was staring down at him, his words rough with desire. "Want a taste of us?"

Her lips parted and she nodded mutely, his claiming needs flooding them both and forcing a need to be acknowledge the claim into her. He crawled up and very deliberately swiped a messy streak from his length, her eyes watching the entire time and brought it to her mouth. She licked his finger experimentally and moaned, suckling it, her hips bucking under him and Bill let out a growl from the back of this throat watching her. He did it again and again, loving the feeling of seeing her suck on his fingers in primal need. She was bucking under him, grinding her clit against his tip, him grinding back. They were both so turned on by how the claim had affected her she started mew and bite at his fingers as she sucked them clean. He could barely stand it and when she started to cry out he slid himself into his already clenching home.

She bit his fingers hard and he pulled them away, trying to focus on not completely slamming into and being gentle. Don't pound. Don't pound, it was a mantra as she hooked her legs around him and writhed under him. She threw her head from side to side already so close to another one and her hair flung to the pillow, exposing where her neck and shoulder joined. His eyes fixed on it and he was hit with the urge to bite, to sink his teeth into that perfect skin as deep as they would go. He fought the biting and lost his battle not to pound, just slamming into her roughly, driving himself so hard and deep her face scrunched. He did it harder and froze at her sudden cry of pain and the abrupt pinch in their bond, he pulled out and rolled off of her. He couldn't control himself at the moment, he needed to make that damn claiming gift. This was too strong for the both of them. She crawled after him, peering at his face, "Bill, it's ok."

"No, I can't control it, love. I'll hurt you or bite you." He ground it out, even now he was losing control and dragging her hips downwards back to his and resheathing himself into his paradise, "Stay on top, love. You can manage the thrusts."

He guided her first tentative ones, bringing his knees up to help her get the angle right and watched with hooded lids as she braced one of her hands on his knee and began to ride him. She was so gorgeous like that, so fucking hot with her chest bouncing, nibbling her lips in concentration as she figured out how she wanted it. Going almost all the way out and in, bobbing a little, midway, twisting her hips experimentally. He ground one hand into the bedsheets to keep some control, the other still on her hip. She found a rhythm that hit her spot and threw her head back in pleasure moaning, one of her hands going to wind and tug blindly in her own hair, the pinned in flowers flinging away from her and he groaned, starting to thrust up to meet her. She was making little shrieking noises now and he shifted his grip to get to her clit, rubbing it frantically in some effort to get her there first. He lost, stars exploding for him, the explosion of his load sending her spiraling into the cosmos as she tried to clench every last drop out of him, before dropping to his chest, their joined parts still twitching.

He held her there, pushing her hair off her sweaty neck, murmuring disjointed words at her as he tried to come back down to earth. They started to make sense in his brain and hopefully out of his mouth, "My treasure, my pearl,-" Oh, he was going to drape her in pearls and go crazy. Needing a little cool air he shifted her to the side, seeing she was barely awake from the exertion of their lovemaking. He stroked her hair for a moment and her eyes shut and he sat up to grab a glass of water, gulping. He fumbled in the drawer for the other little box and grabbed his wand. He needed to at least make that present to where he couldn't hurt her or bite her because he fully intended on waking her up to help him take care of the fact he couldn't seem to shake this erection. Perks of being mauled.

When he had it done, he eyed her, they were both messes and her hair was a complete tangle, her lips swollen from kisses and bites. "C'mon love, wake up for a little while and let me clean you up. You don't want to sleep like this."

She blinked, but let him pull her up and ignored the offered water and chugged a flute of champagne, "What if I do? You seem to like the look."

"You're just being contrarian to be contrarian, love. Here, let me put this on you." He swung the necklace at her, "We can talk about the claiming present later, but for tonight at least I need you to wear it."

She didn't protest, just lifted her hair for him and when he had it on and got to look at it, his insides purred and made a demand: she was going to wear it all of the time. She wiggled and her pert breasts shook for him, "It's tingling my magic."

"Wiggle for me again." He asked and she did with a laugh.

He leaned over and kissed her, "It looks perfect on you, like it belongs. You have a very happy husband at the moment."

He pulled her from the bed and into the bathroom, starting a shower. He really was going to clean her properly this time and not indulge in any of the many shower fantasies he'd had about her, maybe a few. She let him wash her, massaging her scalp as he did her hair, comb running through tangles as she leaned against his chest, arms loosely around his waist, one hand dipping between them to use her little hand to tentatively explore him for the first time. He gave her noises of approval as he combed the conditioner through, only pulling away to lather his hands and begin to clean her without a flannel. It was her turn to make noises of approval as he stroked every part of her body, cupping her breasts and sliding his thumbs across her nipples, soapy hands going down her stomach and sides, up the outside of her legs, up the inside, softly brushing and grabbing her bum. Fingers gently cleaning the tender flesh between her legs, stroking and stroking to make sure she really was clean. She returned the favor, kissing him as he bent so she could manage his hair and her nails felt so delicious. She was using a different method, soap and lips to clean him, tongue trailing his scars and when she rinsed him, her hand kept stroking and she looked up into his eyes and went slowly to her knees. Oh Godric, he'd constantly imagined her lips on him, had shoved the image into her brain on accident repeatedly during the moon. She smiled at him, "I believe it's time for my practical exam?"

He couldn't manage words, only nod as he watched her very tentative exploration, groaning at the sensation and finally, finally seeing those hot little rose bud lips take him in and kiss. She flicked her tongue and swirled it around the tip, looking up at him for feedback and whatever rapture his face had, or pleasure she could feel from him she was emboldened in her exploration. He had to lean one arm against the tile, trying not to thrust and gag her, huskily warning her not to take to much in. She bobbed and stroked and he felt his lower abs begin to tighten. "Love, I'm getting close."

She increased her rhythm and her suction and he let out a groan, letting himself thrust a bit and it was rising in him, balls clenching and emptying into her mouth. She looked completely startled and it was hot and adorable to see her little chipmunk cheeks, "Spit it or swallow it, love."

She swallowed and he felt the claiming need chunk in him again with satisfaction, that was his only too. He kissed her gently in thanks, "C'mon love, let me finish your wash and get you to bed."

"I'm not sleepy anymore." She told him cheekily and gestured to the fact he was still in pretty much the same state he'd spent the full moon with her in. Constantly hard.

"You're going to be sore, love."

"No, I won't. Plus, you've put your make Bill behave jewelry on me." She yawned and he ducked her back under the water, hooking one of her legs around his hip as he nudged her against the tile.

He lifted and entered, pulling up her leg to wrap around him, sliding into his favorite place in the world and pumping, "That what you want, love?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard in response, biting his lower lip, before demanding, "More."

He gripped her bum tighter and started to increase his pace and thrusts only to abruptly have his entire body feel like it was getting stabbed by needles. He jerked, almost dropping her. He managed to pull out and only then did the needles stop. "Fuck that hurts."

"Biscuit?" She asked, dropping off the wall.

"No shower smoochies for you, at least we know the claiming gift works." He started to rinse the conditioner out of her hair, still feeling slightly stabbed around the edges.

* * *

Bill was curled around her, one knee behind hers, slightly on top of her, hand idly tracing patterns into her skin as he thrust slowly and gently in. They'd been at it this way for a long time, his promise that intensely slow and gentle could be better than fast. She was turned slightly to make eye contact. His words were soft, "Keep breathing with me, love."

She focused back on matching her breaths to his, not his tracing fingers or excruciatingly languid movements in her. In and Out. In and Out. His heartbeat at her back, his fresh scent around her. In and Out. On and on it went, their magic seeping from their pores to surround them, tides in them rising in tandem, desire with each breath. The bond was around them, not pleasure matched for pleasure, simply one pleasure woven between them. In and Out. His fingers touching her now, fondling and stroking. In and Out. Rising slowly like a new well as she breathed against his lips.

When they went, they went together with the most intense and ongoing orgasm of the night and she didn't fall off a cliff or into the abyss, or see stars. She fell into Bill's soul and he into hers, clenching and moving for minutes.

He made no move to withdraw himself from her and she drifted to sleep in his arms, joined in body, joined in soul, joined in magic.

* * *

A/N: Review, or if you're shy just send a PM! This definitely isn't the strongest part of my writing, so feedback is very much appreciated.


	22. Unexpected Interruptions

A/N: I want to say thank you, I've got the loveliest reviewers! I adore the positive feedback and what's not working for you (bigmommak - I try to explain a little of my thinking here on Ginny/Harry, had to turn off my PM because I got a creeper :/)

If you didn't read Ch 21: There are a few more stories vaguely related to shifting tides up, most relevant the prequel of their crushes during Hermione's hogwarts years ('A drop in the ocean').

Narrators today: Parvati, Bill, Ginny, Hermione, Molly, Fred, Harry (almost managed a narration by Crookshanks but canned it)

* * *

 **Unplanned Interruptions**

Parvati awoke at the sound of the portrait hole opening and the sound of voices, she perked up immediately, seeing the hot brother (Lady Violet confirmed, though Lavender's choice was deemed braver because of his scars) come through. He was shirtless with a blazer, a broom slung over his shoulder with a quaffle resting on the crook of his elbow as he reached up to help his companion through. "Minerva, you're just looking at it from a chaser's point of view, not holistically from the field."

"Charlie, shush, you'll wake the children." She told him, letting him help her through, her voice equally as loud. "You're just viewing it from a seeker's point of view. That's always been your biggest flaw."

"No, no, let me draw it out for you." Charlie said, that was his name, and Parvati watched as her Head of House promptly dropped an empty bottle of firewhiskey as his arm went around her waist. "I've still got to convince to you that 'Freckle Face' was the best play Hogwarts saw for decades."

They were moving across the room and her Head of House giggled, actually giggled. Charlie caught Parvati's eye and winked, causing her to be incredibly glad she'd slept in her makeup. "That's not even a play, it was a tactic. You just were divebombing the other team until the rain let up."

"Play, tactic, semantics, we won didn't we? Got Ravenclaw to lose two players and I got hexed repeatedly in the hallways over the next few days, even by Hufflepuff." He seemed proud by the inter house retaliation.

They left and Parvati looked at Lavender who was also sitting up looking pouty. "I wish we'd been at the wedding. We could have been her bridesmaids."

Seamus was elated, "They're both bombed."

They'd all just settled when the portrait hole opened again, revealing giggling twins, also with brooms, one shirtless, one not. "Oh hello, little rebels."

"Perhaps you can tell us if our brother has been through here?" The other queried.

"He's got red hair and-"

"He just brought McGonagall through." Neville told them.

"Excellent, excellent. George, shall we?" Fred was leaning on his brother.

"Yes, I do believe we should get on with our plan."

Fred, shirtless, burst into giggles.

He handed his broom to Seamus, George following suit. Neville trying to stop them, "You can't be here, What if you get caught?"

The twins shared a glance and cracked up, "We only get caught when we want to be."

"Silly, little ones." George was completely erratic.

They headed out and Neville hesitated, "Oh Merlin, I'll follow them. They're going to do something stupid."

Padma Patil frowned, "Should I go get Professor Flitwick?"

A chorus of "Yes" echoed.

* * *

Bill was lying there, watching Hermione sleep and playing with her pearl necklace when he first heard the voices in the hallway and frowned. Everyone was supposed to have stayed clear of the house. There was a knock, "Bill, can we come in?"

"No." He called. "Go away and let us enjoy being married for awhile."

"Blimey!" Ron exclaimed from the other side of the door, "When did you get married?"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Harry called.

Hermione's eyes had opened and looked at him in concern calling, "Last night, Ron. You both were there."

"Harry and I don't remember last night and we need Bill's help. Word came from Hogwarts requesting assistance."

He shared another look with Hermione and sighed, there was never a break. "Go start tea and I'll be right down."

He sat up and found Hermione doing the same, she winced. "You should rest, love."

"No, I want to know what's going on." She protested and shifted and winced again.

He was already out of the bed, "Let me at least draw you a quick bath since you're sore? I'll handle Harry and Ron and you can come down when you're up to it."

She didn't protest like he expected, merely nodded sleepily. He drew the bath, cursing he hadn't thought to put a soreness potion in the bathroom and quickly readied himself. He leaned over and gave her a kiss once he had her settled into the bubbles, "Love you, my Mrs. Weasley."

"Love you too, biscuit. Let's leave the Mrs. Weasley for your mum though. It sounds weird." She settled in.

He found himself drinking burnt tea, looking at Harry and Ron, both worse for the wear. "What happened? What's this about Hogwarts?"

Harry shrugged helplessly, "Everything for me is really spotty from last night. Congratulations though. Word came from Hogwarts that McGonagall and Charlie need help with botched memory modification charms, but want you to do it."

Bill frowned, what had Charlie done this time? "Why not just go to Filius?"

"No idea, but Fred and George are bringing them here." Harry said.

Bill ran a hand down his face, feeling the unfamiliar scrape of his wedding band. "Ok, let me go take Hermione some tea and toast and I'll be back down. One of you go get the pensive, the other write down as much you can remember for me, since you two have some memory issues as well."

"She is who you married, right?" Ron asked hesitantly.

"Yes." He made her tea properly and cooked her a quick breakfast, taking it upstairs to find her dozing in the tub. He set the food and potion by the bed, went in and pulled the stopper, afraid she would accidentally drown herself. He bent down to get her and she woke up, insisting she hadn't been sleeping and she wasn't staying in the room.

"Do you think McGonagall was trying to erase the kiss from Charlie because she was embarrassed?" Hermione conjectured as she tried to dress awkwardly under her towel, feeling shy at him staring, he reached over and grabbed the towel away. He wanted to look.

"I've no idea, but I'm so glad that happened." Bill told her as he helped her down the stairs discreetly, carrying her food while she had her tea. He threw a cushioning charm at the seat she chose and was surprised to see Fred and George. One was covered in folded pieces of parchment stuck to him, the other had scratches all over his face. "What happened to you two?"

Fred started plucking notes off of himself and piling them, glancing at one. "Wedding congratulations."

George touched his face, "We followed Charlie and McGonagall to Hogwarts to make sure they made it, whoever was flying the broom was really erratic."

"We saw her leave." Hermione protested.

"She was there when we got back from running you all, Percy said he thought Charlie was worried about her apparating after that much to drink and must have hit her with an anti-apparition charm. Charlie was in a state himself and decided to fly her home in the middle of a quidditch match."

"We thought it was a joke or something, but they didn't come back so we decided we'd make sure they made it." Fred said, "Plus we wanted to tell Mrs. Norris the good news."

George pointed at his face, "I tried to pick her up, we thought it was the night we could adopt her."

Hermione was just staring at them open mouthed, Bill shook his head. "I take it the firewhiskey kept flowing after we left?"

"And everything else we had, we made a run to the muggle store too." Fred put his head in his hands. "Georgie, I think instead of adopting Mrs. Norris we should just name our pet lines after her."

George nodded his agreement then glanced at the door, "Where are they? They were right behind us."

Bill nudged her and pointed at her breakfast, indicating she should eat it, before getting up and starting more toast and eggs for everyone, throwing sausage on. "Ron, come to the living room and I'll take a peek at restoring your memories. Harry, or whoever, watch breakfast."

He did the light version of the reversal spell and watched as Harry and Ron agreed to _obliviate_ each other, watched it run back to the two of them drunkenly heading for their beds in Shell Cottage and looking up to the one lit window and seeing a very private glimpse of Bill and Hermione's wedding night. Farther back was the twins, giggling erratically. The spell dropped and he shifted uncomfortably, mentally making a note to immediately buy curtains and thankful they'd opted to erase it from their brains. Ron was eyeing him, "What is it?"

Bill chose his words carefully, "You two drunkenly tried to wipe each other's memories, just did it a little strong. It'll take a little work, but you two can wait. I want to see what Charlie and McGonagall did first."

* * *

Molly Weasley smoothed her robes one last time before approaching the Veela reserve, silently telling herself she was a guest, needed to be professional and treat Fleur the same way. Arthur had been very firm on the last part, reiterating there was no need to drag the Weasley family name through the mud by misbehaving. She'd taken umbrage at him, she never misbehaved, she merely was firm in her opinions and people took them how they pleased. Mrs. Delacour came out to greet her with two swooping cheek kisses and an incredibly gracious welcome, "Molly, mon cherie. Please do come in, we're ever so thankful for your help."

She was ushered in and promptly fussed over the same way she fussed over guests, pastries and coffee being poured, juice and barely managed to get a thank you in between all of the women. Fleur swooped down on her in exaggerated familiarity and kindness, as if they were the closest of friends instead of two people who epically disliked each other. She smiled sweetly, "Fleur, did you hear the news?" A pause and a hand flutter, "Oh you couldn't have, it was just last night. Bill and Hermione wed."

Fleur's face lit up in happiness and she clapped her hands, not the reaction Molly was expecting. "Ohh, I'm so happy for zem! I told Beel he should propose, he jest adores her, non? You must be trilled, Molly."

"I am. We've always felt Hermione was part of the family." Molly told her, chafing slightly at the use of her first name, but more astounded Fleur wasn't going into a jealous fit or pouting over finally having Bill fully out of her talon like clutches.

Rapid french flew around her and she only caught words like 'trousseau' and presents. Finally, Mrs. Delacour sat down next to her and explained, "Fleur might be going a bit overboard, Hermione is one of Fleur's very few witch friends. She raved about how Hermione let her stay at Shell after everything with the baby and they became so much closer."

"Hermione did what?!" It was more of a shriek than Molly intended, her oldest son had a lot of explaining to do. Not telling his mother he was getting married, not telling his mother he might have knocked a girl up, not telling his mother anything apparently. Of all of her children, Bill was the least communicative about what was going on in his life, or if he did it was usually to Arthur. She shook her head in exasperation.

Mrs. Delacour patted her hand in commiseration, apparently able to read another mother's thoughts. "Fleur is the same way, didn't even tell us about Elian, we had no idea why she'd been having mood swings, but he kept breaking up with her because of his Elders. He's a good man, we hope we come to like Elian just as much as we liked Beel."

Molly smiled at the compliment to her son. "Thank you."

Mrs. Delacour's english was almost perfect from her boarding days, "I shall translate for you, unless you prefer Fleur?"

Molly felt her lips twitch, "I think you and I will do just fine."

"Perfect. As you know we're interested in doing an adaption off of your clock to be able to track all of the residents of the Veela population as we are rather endangered and often attacked. Full Veelas don't have the magic to make it and neither Fleur nor I could properly manage from the books you sent."

Molly nodded, Fleur had been making the request for awhile now and her own disastrous attempts, before finally breaking down and asking if Molly would just do it for them. "Yes, are there different family lines? That's the basis of the magic, so one might need to be made for every family unless there is a common ancestor for the reserve."

Mrs. Delacour looked thoughtful, "We'll have to think on that, full Veelas are hatched, so there's a possibility there. For the rest of us, it's more complicated I presume?"

They hatched? Molly didn't know much about Veelas other than they transformed into birdlike creatures and easily seduced men. "Yes, if you have any records that would be most helpful. The other portion of the magic is deciding what status' you want represented on the chart?"

"Yes, yes, that might also need to be different for those that are full than their descendants, due to the transformation. Here let me refill your tea and I'll explain."

And Molly settled in for a few day stay at the Veela reserve in the only nice thing she would ever do for Fleur Delacour and while she liked her mother, would still find the girl who once entrapped her son completely intolerable.

* * *

"Bill, are you out of biscuits?" Hermione asked as she bustled around the kitchen, trying to prepare a proper tea tray for Professor McGonagall, she was not going to make her sit in the kitchen with a bunch of hungover boys.

"Love, _we_ are not. Let me pull them down for you." He reached up to a cabinet very much too high for her and started pulling out biscuits and the extra scones from yesterday.

" _We_ are going to rearrange this kitchen." She informed him huffily, "You put all the food where I can't even see it."

"Stop being gross, you two." Ron said around a mouthful of eggs.

The back door opened and Charlie and McGonagall appeared, both looking a little frazzled, McGonagall looking around the place in interest as if she'd never seen a kitchen before. Fred spoke first excitedly, "Charlie are you wearing women's robes?"

Charlie's ears burned pink and Hermione glared at Fred. "You boys all go out and check on Griphook and clean the beach."

"We're eating," Ron started.

She glared harder, "Now, Ronald."

"Yes, Mrs. Bill Weasley." He rolled his eyes, grabbed his plate and followed his brothers out.

Very primly, and trying to ignore Bill's amusement as she played hostess for the first time, she offered them the parlor and took the tea tray in, offering full breakfast as well. He winked at her as he followed Charlie up the stairs to get him sorted clothing wise. Professor McGonagall took a seat and accepted tea, quietly offering her congratulations again, still glancing around in confused way. Hermione found when she sat, she wanted a pillow and blushing tried to discreetly slip one under. It didn't go unnoticed, "I'll assume Mr. Weasley was a rather enthusiastic bridegroom. I do hope we didn't scare you ahead of time, with Nymphadora running off her mouth."

She blushed again and nodded, "Tonks was very helpful," graphically so, "especially around ah, certain aspects of what to expect with Bill's condition. I'm terribly sorry you ended up with Charlie in your charge last night."

A faint blush tinged the older woman's cheeks, "That Mr. Weasley has always found a way to make trouble even outside of quidditch."

Hermione suppressed a smile, "I don't know Charlie particularly well, in fact, I'm not sure I've ever been alone with him."

She was saved a response by Bill and Charlie reappearing, Charlie properly dressed with a freshly washed face. Bill looked speculative, "I think the pensive is the way to go. Charlie is fairly certain he just blacked out at one point."

Charlie flushed at this, clearly embarrassed at his over imbibing, before trying to smother it. "Minerva, would you like to go first or should I?"

She indicated him, "I think it's prudent if we both watch as I too, have strange gaps on top what feels like a lot of missing information relevant to the Order."

Charlie drew the wand and when Hermione went over, he flushed, "Hermione you don't have to come."

Bill put an arm around her waist, "Actually Char, she does. Our magic is bound up, so if I go, she goes."

Professor McGonagall seemed intrigued by this, "Bound up? As in the traditional pureblood tie?"

Bill looked guilty for a flash second, "Bundled together. We weren't unlatched when we handfasted. I well, I wanted-" he cut himself off and everyone understood anyway, Bill hadn't wanted to let go of the closeness and Hermione beamed at him.

They tipped in and she noted Charlie nervously glancing at McGonagall, edging closer to her then away again. Charlie's memory was slightly blurry around the edges as Aberforth told them they shouldn't go back to Hogwarts in their state and he had one room available, Charlie offered to sleep on the floor. Hermione was startled to find that in Charlie's memory Professor McGonagall didn't look how Hermione saw her, she looked years younger, not young by any means, but her green eyes were sparkling, cheeks flushed from the broom ride, long windswept hair down, wrinkles merely blurs and to Charlie she was a very pleasing sight indeed. She involuntarily glanced at the Charlie in the pensive with her, who was alternating between looking at the floor and trying to look at McGonagall, who'd put a hand to her cheek as if trying to reconcile his image with reality.

They were in her study, glasses of whiskey on the table pouring over a quidditch playbook and rule book, Charlie passionately telling her, "No, see here it says anyone who catches the snitch wins. Using everyone as a seeker has worked when you know you've got no chance, but need to end the game as quickly as possible to mitigate standing point losses."

"I was at that game in 64', Charlie. All it did was distract the other team with everyone swooshing about at random and allow them all to get hit with bludgers. Beaters at least have to stay out." She was pointing and flipping pages to show him.

"Distraction is key, Minerva."

"No, it rarely works and even-" she stopped talking abruptly as Charlie took off his blazer.

"Rarely works?" Charlie crowed at her triumphantly and got smacked with her book, he caught her hand, words husky, "I can be terribly distracting."

"Charlie." Hermione scolded almost inaudibly, only Bill hearing her as they whooshed out of the pensive.

There was a long beat of silence as Charlie shuffled his feet, flushing furiously as he looked at the ground, his apology mumbled, "I'm sorry if I got fresh with you again, Minerva."

She looked completely flummoxed as she peered at him, hand still at her cheek, before hiding it away under her normal demeanor. "I don't think we need to examine my memories. They seem to be in the same vein as Charlie's, quidditch talk and he showed me his dragon scars," she compulsively folded and unfolded her hands, "before he told me I could't know anything about Order safehouses."

Charlie was still looking at the floor, "You'll have to fix that Bill, I don't think she can get in anywhere now."

Bill nodded, avoiding the awkwardness, "Charlie, I thought you were concerned you'd been wiped as well?"

Minerva had more color in her cheeks than normal, but had her normal strict tones. "I'd given him some classified information, I think."

Hermione was pretty positive she was lying, but given what she'd just seen opted not to press. "Would anyone like fresh tea, while Bill sets about modifications?"

There were murmurs of yes and Charlie followed her into the kitchen to help refill the scone trays and gather some remnants of breakfast. Hermione made the tea and let him be mortified in silence, noting that he made two plates to take back. She paused him, a hand on his shoulder, "Charlie, we're not going to tell anyone and I won't let Bill tease you."

He nodded his thanks and went back through with her, setting the other plate down and casting a warming charm on it as Bill was currently digging through her brain. Food seemed to help him regain his equilibrium, wiggling his eyebrows as he noticed her sit on the cushion. "So in nine months there will be a little Charles William?"

"Shut up, Charlie." She told him, flushing then raising a hand to her mouth. When she'd said no charms, she'd meant no pain charms, but Bill had taken it literally and they'd taken zero precautions against pregnancy.

"Us Weasleys are a virile bunch you know," Charlie went on seeing her face, "Mum and Dad were using anti-contraception charms and runes when Bill decided he was coming into the world anyway. You really did marry a freakishly stubborn man, so watch out for that."

"Thanks for the endorsement, Charlie. Guess I'll go extra gentle in fixing your brain." Bill said, putting a hand to his head as he sat back. He took a few sips of tea and Hermione was slightly concerned at the slight sweat in his hair, "Did you have to wipe out what a house was, you git?"

Then he raised his wand again and went back to work. Charlie looked guilty for a moment, then shrugged. "I started doing them individually then realized it would take forever and just tried to do it all at once. I don't know why I thought she shouldn't remember any of them."

Hermione shrugged, "Perhaps the firewhiskey gave you that idea?"

He stuck his tongue out at her. "So how many little ones do you two want?"

Ummm, well they'd only vaguely talked about children as in someday there would be children. "It's a little early for any of that."

Charlie grinned, seeing right through her, before glancing at his brother for a moment. "He'll be a great father when the times comes, Hermione. Godric knows he's had enough practice as an older brother. He only lost Ron." Pause. "Well, he did freak out over thinking he'd lost Ginny and we let it go on for awhile, then Mum put him out of his misery by pointing out he had her in the back carrier."

Hermione smiled, she rather liked the idea of Bill with babies in the distant future, he'd looked so comfortable with Teddy. "Let's not talk about babies."

Charlie shrugged, "I'm happy for you two. Especially now because I don't have to listen to him wax on about how he's torn over ever saying anything and whether I thought you noticed him staring. Strangely enough you never did. He was dreadful over summer and so worried about the changes that he made me follow you two sometimes."

"You followed us?" She asked appalled, she and Bill had talked so deeply about things. She had to noticed him staring, but just chalked it up to changes happening in his blood and didn't want to be rude about it.

"You never looked up and don't worry I stayed high, tried to listen to you two once or twice and it was so boring." He said with a shrug, "Bill was afraid he might jump you close to the moon. You might have noticed he ordered you about more than the rest of us."

"Still! I'm outraged and he's going to hear about it." She had definitely noticed, had constantly told Bill to stop being a brute. She was fuming, he'd never mentioned it. Of all of the things to do, Bill had basically chaperoned them.

Charlie grinned at her. "This is amazing, I have a new person to get Bill in trouble with." He frowned and sobered, "New sister, promise not to tell?"

She nodded, he fidgeted, biting and swallowing toast without chewing. "I didn't put everything in the pensive."

"Charlie, what else?" She asked softly, completely curious and sort of afraid.

Bill was sitting back though, "There."

Charlie was moving over to McGonagall's side, "Minerva?"

Bill wiped at his sweaty face, "Charlie take her upstairs to the yellow room, she'll need to rest for awhile. Give her a headache potion."

As Charlie did as he was told, Hermione went into the kitchen and made a cold compress, going back out to her Bill who had a fist against his head. "Come biscuit, I'll fix Harry and Ron, I need the practice for my parents anyway. You need to rest yourself, you don't want a migraine."

She took him upstairs and settled him in the bed with the compress, playing with his hair. "Do you think anything happened?"

He tugged at her hand, "Lay down with me? Not sure, Charlie only had a blazer and boxers, but when he's that drunk he banishes his clothes. "

She did eyeing him, his blue eyes had a rather wolfish gleam. "I just need a distraction, love."

"Distractions don't work for headaches-" She started to protest as he nuzzled her neck.

"But I can be very distracting." He swooped his lips onto hers and she laughed.

"And very unoriginal in pickup lines." She told him and got pinned down with a growl in response.

* * *

Ginny packed the last of her bag, readying to go back to her protective post via meeting them in London. Her dad knocked on the door, "Ginny can I come in?"

She nodded and went back to packing, he sat on the bed and wiped his glasses. "Ginny, I'm not sure about this."

"About what, Dad?" She knew this tone of his.

"All of it. You almost got killed-"

She cut him off, "But I didn't. I don't think they'll come me after me again like that." She remembered the intensely interested and calculating look Voldemort had been giving her as if trying to trace a whisper from the diary. She involuntarily shivered. "Just a feeling."

"We don't know that, Ginny." He said softly, "Charlie will be able to take over more soon and I don't know that I want you in London, it's crazier there and with your impending courtship." He wiped his glasses again, "Are you sure about that? We can simply refuse the suit and you two can takes things slow. You can have time to speak with Harry again."

Ginny sat down on the bed next to her dad, giving him a squeeze, sensing part of this was not wanting her to grow up. "Dad, I know everyone is concerned about Harry, but he and I talked about it last night. He was the one to point out we dated for a total of three weeks ten months ago and were barely out of the friendship phase."

"Ten months is a long time when your sixteen." Her dad recalled, no judgement in his tones.

Ginny nodded, she'd grown up a lot, settled more firmly into her brazen self and gotten to share that process with Ralph. It wasn't that Harry was out of her heart, but so much of love was timing. How long had Hermione waited for Bill only to give up on him and leave when he was ready? Would it have ever happened if she hadn't shown up on his beach? Would Ginny have ever taken this risk if she hadn't stolen a dragon?

"It is. Ralph said Harry and Ron gave him a big brother speech, he thinks it's the exact same one Bill got because they accidentally said Hermione a few times." Her dad smiled and she smiled back, "We do think we want to do it formally, Ralph actually thinks it'll be pretty fun and loves that it's sticking it to the Ministry since he's muggleborn. He was saying something about how now they can't say he stole a wand from someone magical because the suit was accepted, so his magic is Ministry recognized as his own. Dad, tell him not to go do the stupid blood status inquiry to shove it in their faces. He'll mouth off and end up hanging out with Oliver Wood in a cell." She rolled her eyes, it was one thing to be proud of being muggleborn, another to be stupid about it in these times. "I think he's just lazy because he doesn't have to make up any of the dates, just follow a playbook. You'll have to help with chess though, Ron's already decided on his single combat."

Her dad nodded, "Your Mum and Muriel will be happy. I wanted to court your mother properly, but she was worried about her brothers ruining everything. Did Bill have any changes to the rules we sent over?"

"Yes." She lied quickly, some of those were getting vetoed. Bill had in fact taken one glance at the paper, called it rubbish, told her he wasn't going to time her hand holding. "He wants some more time to look them over, he was sort of preoccupied with getting himself hitched."

She needed to write Bill a list of everything she wanted off, some of the stuff on there was insane from Muriel's day, like always having to wear her hair up to not be tempting. Her dad nodded, "That was quite the surprise, but don't let that be giving you any ideas, Ginny. I want to be able to walk you down the aisle."

She squeezed him again, "Me too, Daddy. Seriously though, how could you let some of those rules get on there? I'm not wearing gloves."

He looked slightly sheepish, "I figured it was easier to not fight it and let Bill veto them, since it's technically his say and your Mum can't do a thing about it."

"Why do we always throw Bill under the bus?" Ginny mused, they all did it constantly. Something you don't want to take the fall for? Just blame Bill. Something you don't want to fight with Mum over? Whine until Bill intercedes for you.

Her dad looked even more sheepish, "Your Mum's hassling bothers Bill the least, he just shrugs it off. You and Charlie get worked up and yell back." He sighed, "Ginny I know you'll be with his family, but you're not to be alone with him. You've got to promise me that to be able to go."

"But Dad, you like him. Don't you trust him?" Ginny started to protest and a thought occurred to her that she might be the one her dad didn't trust in this situation.

"I do, Ginny, but you're sixteen and he's not. I don't want either of you in a situation with too much temptation. Promise me?"

"I promise I won't be purposefully alone with him." She muttered it, not liking it, but fully intending on keeping her word. If Bill happened to leave them alone that wasn't her fault. "What? I can't help it if Bill has to go to the loo or something."

Her father raised an eyebrow at her phrasing, but decided to let it slide. "Alright, Perce will apparate you over when he goes for his shift. When you did it last time you hit a flag at the Ministry since you haven't passed your apparition test. We're working on faking the paperwork, but until then you've got to go side along. Go say goodbye to Muriel."

She sighed, but consented and headed off to find her Aunt, who was crocheting. "Aunt Muriel, I'm leaving for London now. I wanted to say goodbye."

"Are they sending you to the convent for running away? I told Arthur they should." Muriel said, eyeing her as Ginny tried not to roll her eyes. This was why her stupid rules were so arcane.

"No, Aunt Muriel. I'm going to-"

"Polishing school?" Muriel cut her off.

"Yes." Ginny told her, in a way she was. Muggle polishing school.

"Good, be sure to practice your dancing, you were atrocious at the wedding. I think that young man will be willing to help you." Something twinkled in those senile eyes.

"Yes, Aunt Muriel. Now have a good day." She pecked her cheek and headed off to meet Percy.

* * *

Fred was returning from the loo when he heard Bill start yelping in pain, Hermione's screams of "Bad Crookshanks! No Crookshanks!"

"Get him off!" Bill and the sound of crashing and hissing. Charlie and McGonagall appeared in the hallway as well, looking curious.

Hermione was still scolding her cat, "Bad Crookshanks! He wasn't attacking me."

Fred started to laugh, but Hermione did not look at all pleased when the door opened and she was squatting holding her thrashing cat, her hair extra wild and shoving him into the hallway, "Bad Crookshanks! You do not attack Bill."

Crookshanks hissed at her and she frowned back, "Go to the beach, Crookshanks."

"Just what was Bill doing for Crookshanks to think he was attacking you?" Fred asked evilly and she compulsively straightened the thin robe she was wearing.

"Go get me dittany, Fred. He's all scratched up." She ordered him.

Fred shrugged and looked at Charlie, who was eyeing the cat, "Bet that's not the only reason Bill's scratched up. Granger's got claws."

"Fred! Dittany." Bill's disapproving tone came through the door, where Crookshanks was still shoving his paw under it.

Charlie and McGonagall came down with him, Charlie looking thoughtfully at the cat who'd preceded them and was waiting to be let out at the back door for the beach. "Hermione's cat is weirdly aware, sort of freaks me out and I'm a cat person."

"He's half-kneazle." McGonagall told him.

"Oh, that might explain it. Perhaps he needs a companion of his own now that Hermione has Bill. Bill says he's been a little possessive of her." Charlie mused thoughtfully, "Maybe for a wedding present, what do you think Minerva?"

She gave him a tight smile, "I think that would a very thoughtful gift for the new family." Her next words were hesitant, "I could help you pick one out? I'm rather fond of cats and know most of the breeders."

"I'd enjoy your help Minerva." Charlie offered her his arm, "Shall I take you back to Hogwarts and not break your brain this time?"

Fred watched them in fascination, finding the interaction slightly weird in a shy fashion, but shrugged it off. They'd all gotten to know McGonagall better through their work with the Order and she wasn't near as strict when she wasn't furious at some broken rule. He took the dittany up to the Mrs of the house, carrying up her wedding congratulations notes as well. "I'll clean up breakfast, then I've got a shift with Perce. You two lovebirds have fun."

She smiled her thanks, then Fred paused, glancing over at Bill, who was lying on his stomach with a rather bloody back. Bill looked up at him, "Fred, are you on London duty?"

"Yep, West London. Why? Need me to grab something?" Fred leaned against the doorframe, watching as Hermione went over and continued cleaning Bill's back and dropping dittany as she went.

"Some curtains, please." Bill said and Hermione flushed red to her toes.

Fred smothered a smile, "What color would the bride like? Magenta? Orange?"

"Cream or a nice light blue. Thank you, Fred." She mumbled it without looking at him.

"Wotcher." He left, grabbing a scone as he went.

Percy was waiting and Fred asked idly, "Name of my stuffed elephant?"

"Giraffe." Percy said and shook his head, "Who did you impersonate to get me to have lunch when I was working so hard?"

"Illegal caldron seller, non-regulated bottom thickness. I still don't see how you didn't immediately know it was us when the tip came in." Fred shook his head, "Alright, what have we got today?"

Percy didn't look pleased, "Unfortunately, probably dementors. They've been focusing around here and we don't know why. Though there was a snippet about airborne potions, but our source wasn't clear. Think they'd been confounded."

Fred frowned, he hated dementor shifts, they were boring. You just waited around to see if they came close enough to feel, then blasted them away and ate chocolate, rinse and repeat. "Ugh." An idea occurred to him, "Hey, Percy? Want to help me write a wedding announcement for Bill and Hermione for the Daily Prophet? Maybe the muggle paper as well?"

"Is it going to be properly done?" Percy asked speculatively.

"Of course not." Fred grinned to himself. "They can have the proper one next time. This is a stick it to the evil side, we're winning on love and laughs sort of thing. I've already got the perfect picture in mind."

Percy gave a half smile, Fred hadn't seen in years. The one that meant he was going to allow himself to be dragged into something he knew would get him in trouble, usually it had only been Bill and Charlie who could coerce it. "Fine. To be clear, I'm only doing this to make sure you don't go too overboard."

"Sure you are, Perce." Fred told him and led the way to a cafe to get their clever on.

* * *

Harry threw a shell into the ocean, glancing at Ron. "Hermione getting married complicates things."

Ron tossed a shell, "She said we don't have to bring him."

"Good." Harry said, he liked Bill, but it had been hard enough on the run with three and tensions had already flared. Adding another person, especially one used to being in charge would change the dynamic.

"Harry, don't you think it might be good to have him? He's a really great wizard and this is sort of what he does for a living." Ron sounded tentative. "I mean his and Hermione's plan is way stronger than any of the ones we came up with."

Harry shook his head, "What about when it's the moon again? How would we handle that on the run?" He took a breath, "Besides if Bill comes the Order loses a safe house and someone for mission detail. Charlie said Bill usually ends up on the really complicated ones, because like you said Bill's a great wizard."

Ron scuffed the sand and Harry knew he was thinking they could change secret keepers. "Ron, they'll have their latch mirrors so they can still talk. He's just.." Harry stumbled, because this was going to sound horrible. "He's just too protective of Hermione, not that I'm not, but I have a feeling Bill would abort a plan or go into a rage if she got threatened." He swallowed thinking back to the sight that had made his stomach turn, "We both saw him after Greyback. I didn't know it was possible you could end up covered in that much blood."

Ron threw another shell, "So we stick with having Hermione steal his wand and some of his hairs? He'll be pissed when he finds out we've just cut him from his own plan."

"We'll have to talk to Hermione about it. If word gets out they married she can't polyjuice as Fleur to be checking their vault in advance of the pretend wedding. Why did she have to go off and become impulsive now?" Harry was slightly frustrated at the constant delays to leaving for the hunt, more frustrated that he still had no better idea of where else everything could be and while he would never say it to Hermione's face it was hard not having her full attention on planning with him. He was so used to it, to her just always being there and shoving away whatever else was going on in her life, giving up on sleep even to help. Now, she was living it and he was happy for her, it was just different. It was different that she would come to breakfast and excitedly talk about the plans she and her clever Bill had been drawing out.

"Are you mad at her or something?" Ron queried, sensing Harry's mood.

"No, I'm not mad. I'm thrilled for her, she's had a crush on Bill forever and they're great together. I'm just…Ron I'm so ready for all of this to be closing credits. To stand there and be facing him down with an actual chance." He kicked sand, "I can't start living until I do that."

"Is this about you know, Ginny?" Ron tried again hesitantly, they didn't have huge talks about emotions.

Harry kicked the sand again, sure some of it was about Ginny, but he was also realizing the Ginny in his head, the Ginny he'd dreamed about for months on the run wasn't the Ginny he saw now. Unfortunately, he liked this Ginny too at first glance and he wanted to get to know her. He lied slightly. "No, not really. To be honest, Ginny scares me sometimes when she gets so fiery. How that dragon tamer doesn't bat an eye at it, I have no idea. She was threatening to learn some hydromage spells to drown him if he didn't stop teasing her and completely looked like she meant it."

"Is that when you were being vaguely stalkerish last night? I mean he works with dragons and all, of which Ginny practically is one." Ron offered.

"Why are all the women in our life so bossy?" Harry asked Ron, thinking of Ginny, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley.

Ron shrugged, "Isn't it easier that way? Besides, Tonks isn't so bad." He paused, "I take that back when I was her Harry she was a dictator."

"So we let Hermione boss Bill out of the picture." Harry said, feeling a slight twinge of guilt, not recalling that Bill had told him specifically that Griphook had already double crossed them to make a bargain with Bill.

* * *

A/N: Reviews are virtual cookies that feed the writing! We learn more about the new plan next!


	23. Clouds in the Sky

A/N: Love, love the reviews. We're getting close to the final days and I'm definitely in the struggle of who survives and who doesn't, so let me know if you're partial to someone and I'll roll the writer's dice. This chapter starts light, ends heavy. To make up for it you'll see a bunch of updates on the ancillary stories, Ron gives his version of when they broke Mum. For now let's take a peek into what's happening all around the wizarding world.

* * *

Clouds in the Sky

"Where's Bill?" Harry asked as Hermione came out to join them on the beach alone, they'd been glued together for the past few days. Harry actually found he preferred them hidden away over stumbling across them being sickeningly besotted with each other.

She made a slightly annoyed face, before it softened, "Being practical and morbid, he's redoing his will." She made a huffing noise as she dropped down into the empty chair, "Did you know in the wizarding world I have to have a man intercede for me in legal matters regarding anything related to his inheritance?"

Harry shook his head and Ron shrugged, "How it works. Bill's firstborn so he's got all of the extra responsibilities of the Weasley name and pretty much inherits everything. You'll get stuck with Muriel's when she dies."

She was still huffy, "He doesn't want everything and intends on spreading all of it out, but I'm supposed to choose a brother to 'keep me under their care and protect the heirs' and nonsense like that. He was telling me to choose carefully because traditionally the second brother has the right to marry the widow, not that any of you would extend it."

"Charlie?" Ron queried and his face had an odd, nervous expression telling her he certainly didn't want the responsibility. It needled her a little bit, Ron would have been her first choice since she was being forced into it.

"Bill won't say, but I know that's who he'd prefer." She started plaiting her hair, "Thing is, Charlie wants to go back to Romania. I think it would be rather rude to force him to come back to England." She huffed again, still annoyed at how Bill had thoughtfully outlined his various brothers best characteristics, writing them down as he went and gotten firm with her over not wanting to think about if he was dead. "Oh, this is all so stupid. Bill's not going to get himself killed anytime soon if I have any say about it."

She watched them exchange glances, Harry saying softly, "We're in a war, Hermione. Bill might be extra aware of his mortality after he got brutalized."

She frowned at that, she was so used to how Bill looked now that when she saw old photos of him it startled her. She'd always found Bill extremely good looking to the point where she'd spent years as an embarrassed mess around him, but loved the strikingness of his scars. It showed the bravery of the man behind the handsome face, the depth behind his easy wink and ever lurking grin. "So, have you two been chatting more with Griphook?"

"Yeah." Ron and Harry shared a glance, "You'll have to tell Bill not to send that paperwork off, if it gets out you two married we lose the Fleur portion of the plan."

"Oh, he knows." She shrugged, Bill wasn't stupid enough to do that, he was far too practical. "Besides the people at the wedding wouldn't tell."

"Everyone at Hogwarts knows, though." Harry stated and she frowned. Harry went on determinedly, "Ron said you're ok with leaving Bill behind?"

Well, no not really. She thought it was completely stupid, just like keeping their hunt a secret over asking for select help was. If Tonks hadn't been pregnant she and Harry would have rowed over bringing Professor Lupin. She tried not to sigh at Harry's stubbornness, "If you really think we should, Harry. I think he'd be a great resource."

Harry was silent so she went on, "He's creating that map of possible spots where something from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff's could be based off of their biographies and some of the suspected hidden treasure spots."

Harry looked impassive, "It doesn't matter where they had it, it matters where He would have hidden it. It's about His life and what was important to him, Bill doesn't know anything about that."

She bit her tongue that there was no way for Bill, or her or Ron for that matter, to know any of that. Harry was the only person Dumbledore had shared any of the information with and he'd been trying piece it together ever since. Ron seeing her face, tried to intervene. "Any ideas of where else would have been important to him?"

"We could try the orphanage again." Harry said.

"I thought he didn't repeat himself?" Hermione challenged, "Wasn't the locket from where he broke those other kids?"

Harry bristled, "Look, it's not like he had Rita Skeeter write his biography, ok? He disappeared for years to where even Dumbledore couldn't trace him."

"What about Borgin and Burke's? Didn't he work there for awhile?" Hermione tried to soothe. "Maybe he got attached to more than just stealing an old lady's treasure?"

"Worth a look once we've got what's in the vault." Harry conceded, still racking his brain. "Hopefully he put two in one spot."

"Doubtful." Ron said and his stomach growled.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I should go start dinner."

They shared a look, "We'll help."

She felt herself flush lightly, "I'm perfectly capable. You should see when I cook muggle."

Ron smothered a smile, "You just tell me how it needs to be cooked and I'll handle the heating part, ok? It takes forever to learn how to get the flames at the right temperature."

Mollified she nodded and Ron went on, "Mum made us all practice it once we hit seventeen, Charlie almost burned the house down he was so terrible at it. Just burnt everything constantly."

They headed for the house, she brightened. "So Ginny can't cook either?"

"Oh, Ginny's a great cook. She was in the kitchen so much with Mum that she's been doing the kitchen spells since before she went to Hogwarts and got the trace."

Well that was bloody good for Ginny, but did not help Hermione at all and she very much found herself wanting to be able to cook a nice dinner for Bill. Maybe he'd be ok with them getting a muggle stove, for now she'd settle her sudden domestic urges on laundry, cleaning and trying to get Bill to stop teasing her for wanting to show him she could properly keep a home just as good as a house elf. She kept finding his sweet hidden notes and was very annoyed he'd charmed the brooms and mops to not let her use them and to tell her to go sit down.

"C'mon, I'll show you two how to do it. You lot can burn noodles." Ron said as they moved into the house.

"If you're such a whiz, why didn't you do all of our cooking when camping versus just complaining about my cooking?" Hermione demanded, aggravated at his tone and caught Harry smiling, covering it with his hand.

Ron flushed in response.

* * *

"Ginny, you're breaking about 7 rules right now." Ralph called from the kitchen of his tiny flat that she'd been rearranging with his mother all day.

"There are no rules yet and Bill is going to veto all of the stupid ones. Otherwise it would be closer to 20, I have a lot more rules than you." She called back from where she was lying on his bed, reading a muggle book, "Can I borrow this?"

"Sure. Sweetheart, will you set the table?" He glanced at what she was holding up.

"Oh, I'll do it. Stay where you are, Ginny." His mother said, leaving the closet she'd been compulsively rearranging alone and giving Ginny a pointed glance and head jerk to the upper corner where there was a pile of wrapped gifts. Ginny popped off the bed to investigate, hearing his mother start peppering him with questions. Some of the presents seemed to be rather large, some small and she couldn't quite reach them no matter how far up on her tip toes she got. She jumped in attempt and landed with a stumble.

"Stop snooping, Gin." He sounded exasperated, "Thick as thieves, you two are."

"I'm not snooping," She called innocently, "Are there any rules you want Bill to banish for you?"

"Tell him to cut the weird grooming stuff. I look like I'm fifteen clean shaven and have no idea what a 'gentleman's haircut' even means." He called back before sounding hassled, "Mum, let me do it, I'm fine. Who do you think has been feeding me since I left home?"

"You always used to burn yourself." His mother protested loudly and Ginny was able to tip one of the presents off with the edge of the book.

"Sure, but now I want to see you clean shaven. You were bashing cute at fifteen." She called eyeing the present, he was a terrible wrapper. A slight shake told her nothing and as she started to try and edge some of the tape off it was grabbed from her.

"No peeking." He scolded and she glowered at him, he put it higher up.

"Can't blame me for being curious." She told him, tipping upwards to give him a peck.

His returning one was longer, lips lingering, "Mum, if you want wine you'll have to pop to the shop."

"You can't have spag bol without wine." She was heard putting on her coat and Ginny pulled out of his gentle embrace apologetically.

"I've got to go with her." She informed him, trying to dodge around him.

He caught her, "She'll be fine for five minutes."

Ginny shook her head and blushed lightly, "Promised Dad I wouldn't be alone with you."

"Ralphie, you go get wine then." His mother took off her coat and he nodded thoughtfully, before pausing. "No, you're a worse snoop than Ginny."

Ginny and Mrs. Robinson went for the wine and fresh cheese to shave on the dinner he was cooking. Mrs. Robinson's voice thoughtful, "I should talk to Molly and Arthur, Ralph has no intentions of rushing anything. He just wants to be able to spend time with you and do that in a way your family is comfortable with." She sighed, "He was very out of sorts when he first realized his fondness for you had turned into something more. Dated a string of horrid girls, Charlie's words, to try and shake it."

Ginny paused, "Does it bother you? The age difference?"

"Oh, it did at first. Roger was furious with him after we saw the two of you kiss in the garden. Then we got to know you and realized sixteen in our world and sixteen in your world are very different. You're not an empty minded little chit, you're someone who's more put together than I was in my early twenties." She paused thoughtfully glancing at a dress in the window, "Besides, if you two were the same age I doubt you'd put up with him. Ralph was a handful, Professor McGonagall had to have our house connected to the floo because he was in trouble so often. Of course, half of what he was in trouble for made no sense to us. Oh, let me pop in here." She patted Ginny's arm and Ginny giggled, remembering how often McGonagall had ended up at the Burrow over Charlie and the twins, at one point just dragging Bill through with her to get yelled at about keeping them in line.

Mrs. Robinson paused in a hardware store to unabashedly make a key to her son's flat. Dinner was a laid back affair where they tried to explain to his mother the courtship thing, which she found romantic and slightly alarming at talks of dueling. It came out that his brother had simply moved into Holly the Hufflepuff's flat so she wouldn't be sleeping in the bushes on base. His mother did not like this and Ginny was pleased to hear that his muggle brother was having just as much trouble in a magical flat as she was in the muggle world. The way he was dropping winks made Ginny wonder if his brother was possibly making progress on his lifetime goal of having a magical girlfriend.

"She's going to be on the phone forever with Gram, might as well get comfortable. She still driving you spare by coddling you?" Ralph asked her, settling onto the couch and jerking his head towards the open bedroom where his mother was. Her stomach fluttered as if this were a real date, even though this didn't count without Bill or Hermione there or the rules in place.

She tucked her legs across him, "No, especially not since I came back. I think your dad is a little afraid of me now. It's sort of like what I imagine having a cool aunt would be like. Except I don't have any cool aunts. They all just love to knit and trade recipes."

He gave her a crinkly grin, "He's not, it's just the article. Your aunts are all by marriage, right?"

She nodded, "I'm the first Weasley girl in seven generations. It's family lore that the last Weasley daughter bolted from her arranged marriage on her wedding day. Her intended cursed the entire family for generations."

"What happened to her?" He asked, fingers starting to play in her hair and she leaned against his shoulder.

"He tracked her down with the half blood she ran away with and there was duel where she ended getting killed. He went crazy with guilt and was the last of the Bungler line, so they died out." Ginny frowned, she'd never found the story particularly romantic considering all of it's players ended up dead or insane, "She's who I'm named after. The lost daughter. The fair one."

"Well, let's aim for a different outcome for this Ginevra." He gave her a small squeeze.

"Your mum said you were in trouble all the time at school, more things you left out of your letters, Mr. Robinson." She tutted at him.

"Couldn't set a bad example, now could I? It wasn't too bad, got caught going into the Forbidden Forest a lot. I just liked seeing the different creatures." He scratched his stubble, she was going to make him shave it tonight so she could see, "Though Charlie and I did get so much detention for the diving contest in Astronomy class."

"What?" She queried as he twirled her hair.

"When Astronomy class is in session Professor Sinistria puts up a barrier around the tower in case anyone falls it just flings you back up. She had to run down for something and it was cloudy so we decided to start diving off and doing crazy poses as we were thrown back up for people to score. Trelawney saw us from her tower and it was hell, detention with Trelawny, detention with Sinstria, detention with McGonagall. My mum even sent a very confused howler telling me to stop treating school property like a trampoline."

Ginny was giggling, completely able to imagine he and Charlie getting way too competitive over it as Ralph explained to her what a trampoline was. She wanted one now, not caring if they were for children or not. "What do you even do for detention with Trelawney?"

"Listen to her ramble about how nobody believes her and hear the different ways you'll die when you have tea with her at the beginning of detention. Charlie had to clean the crystal balls every day and I got stuck doing weird rituals over the tea to make sure it would read true. You didn't take Divination, did you?"

She shook her head, "Ron and Harry hated it and Hermione actually dropped the class so I didn't bother. Shouldn't have bothered with Muggle Studies, lot of good that did in preparing me for the muggle world."

He kissed her temple, "You're doing just fine, sweetheart. I still get all turned around in the magic one sometimes, dragging us into this fun, formal courtship. You should have seen how confused I was when your Dad took us to the ministry for our Romanian visa interviews."

Ginny gave him a smile, "I remember hearing you get completely startled when our mirror talked to you. You were in the bathroom forever trying to have a real conversation with it."

He squeezed her again, "Yes, you were still too shy to talk to me, but told Charlie to tell me that you were the only one the mirror called pretty." Another squeeze, "You were cute when shy, but also sort of creepy, just peeking around corners or hiding under beds like a little monster." He gave a soft smile, "That was the first time you talked to me though, hiding under the bunk bed while Bill and I bribed you with chocolate."

She felt herself get defensive and blushed lightly, "Ron and I didn't have friends yet, we wanted to see what having them was like, if it was different. Plus, I'd never seen a muggleborn or a muggle."

"Was it?" She could tell that hadn't occurred to him, but the magical world wasn't like the muggle one where kids go off to school.

She thought back, "We decided you're nicer to your friends than siblings."

"I see how you treat Charlie, hopefully you'll be nicer to your suitor." He tested out the last word, she smiled at him, as he reached behind him for something. "I know your family hasn't officially accepted the courtship yet, but if you're ready to I'd like to give you your acceptance gift. Or as I think of it, 'let's hang out with Bill a lot' gift."

She laughed and then paused, testing herself for doubts and smiled at him, nodding, stomach beginning to flutter. She suddenly felt very shy, this was a token he would be asking her to wear to show other wizards she was in the process of being wooed. After reading the traditions she could look back and pinpoint the girls at Hogwarts, usually 7th years, wearing such pins or extravagant jewelry in the case of some Slytherins. She found her voice, "I thought you would just use the charm bracelet for that."

He shook his head, his grin sheepish, "It crossed my mind, but decided that would be cheating since you can't take it off. I still need to break into the Ministry to make a new emergency portkey for you, sweetheart."

Ginny took the small box he offered her, this one meticulously wrapped and promptly shredded it open, causing him to chuckle at her excitement. She peeked up at him to see him watching her intently as she lifted the lid and saw it. It was a hairpin, the pin itself a subtle dragon with two daffodils as a decoration on an extended wing, she let out a gasp of delight. When she looked back at him, his face was soft. "I've always loved your hair, couldn't stop seeing all of it's shades in the dragon fire the last few months at the reserve."

"I love it." She managed out and truly she did. Dragons for the two of them, daffodils for all of the times she'd picked them from her garden for him.

'I thought you'd rather have flowers in your hair than gnomes." He gave her a half smile, then touched the first one, "This one has an anti-confundus charm on it, so nobody bobbles your brain again." The second, "Shield spell so you won't take a stunner to the head."

She didn't have words for the thoughtfulness, the steady thoroughness that permeated his personality. So she kissed him to say thank you. It was long and sweet, filling her with a rush of comfortable happiness.

He pulled away, "May I?"

She nodded, stuck rather mute as she watched him take it from the box. She stared as his face as he slipped some of her hair back and inserted the pin to hold it as his face moved closer to hers for another kiss. "Beautiful."

Neither heard the small clicks of one excited camera and one sinister one.

* * *

Bill slowly disentangled himself from his sleeping love, shoving a pillow at her back with a warming charm and adding another blanket, to assuage the guilt he felt about this. He dressed silently, cursing himself as he dropped his belt.

"Bill?" Her voice was a very sleepy murmur.

"Go back to sleep, my pearl. I've got to pop out for a few minutes, nothing major." He told her softly, going to peck her.

"Mmmkay, like that nickname." She murmured before drifting fully off again. He hesitated, wondering for the umpteenth time if he should take her into the room with the boys in case she had a nightmare. He opted against it, she'd been doing better and there was no need for more people to know about tonight.

He slipped out, glad to see Griphook was also exiting his room. They exited the house in silence, Bill opting to break it on the way to the apparition point, "Thank you for your help, Griphook."

The goblin merely nodded, "You've made it worth my time."

That might be a slight understatement in Bill's opinion, but when a goblin knows your motivations there's little you can do to keep them from using them against you. He had at least gotten Griphook to take into account he'd been healed and living under Bill's protection for weeks now, with the option to continue. "You drive a hard bargain, I see why you were a lead negotiator."

Griphook gave a clever smile at the compliment, "Shall I take us, or would you prefer to?"

"You might as well." Bill offered though he hated going by goblin apparition, he always felt squished and twisted after, like his entire body had changed shape. He paused, "Let me disillusion you first."

This and been a sticking point for quite a few days, Griphook had very badly wanted to use the invisibility cloak and Bill very much did not trust him to do so. He'd written an ironclad contract, but they'd signed it before Griphook started asking to borrow the cloak. Bill had successfully argued it out that the cloak was not his, it was Harry's and the contract had it written so that Harry, Hermione and Ron had no idea about their dealings. No clue about the play they were laying tonight to counteract the plan Griphook had with them. Griphook looked sour as Bill did the charm, "You're aware they're arguing over whether to take you or not."

"Yes, hence why we've entered into a contract." Bill was all too aware the tension he'd been causing between the three. Even if he didn't have the heightened senses that let him hear his brother's loud voice through the wall's Hermione's guilty doe eyes kept looking at him sadly. The number of times they'd almost gotten themselves killed simply would not allow Bill to let her go off into danger without him.

He abruptly felt himself yanked from the navel, squeezed and shortened. He found himself in the goblin apparition point at Gringotts, silently cursing Griphook who should have know to take him to the human one. Instead he said out of the side of his mouth, "Want me to wait for you?"

"No, I'll return to Shell sooner than you're done with your errand." Was the equally quiet response and Bill heard him pad away for his part of a portion of their bargain.

Bill headed for the library and wasn't surprised when he was asked to stop by a familiar goblin voice, he turned, dropping into gobblygook. "Hi Therook. How are you this evening?"

"Bill?" The old security goblin asked and Bill was glad it was him on duty, Therook was kind as far as goblins went and he'd seen him here many a late night for the same reason as tonight. He also wasn't a particularly clever goblin.

"Yep, Bill Weasley. Just needed to check a book for something, like usual." Bill gave him what he hoped was a friendly smile and not a nervous one.

"We thought you got killed." Pause, "But then there's those posters." Another pause, "Then they had a wedding announcement in the Prophet, very strangely written, it was."

Oh bloody hell, who was fool enough to do that? He could name two identical looking people. He tried not to let his anger show, "I haven't seen it, I stopped getting the Prophet when they upped their slander on my family."

Therook seemed to consider this for a long time as they walked, asking in a hushed tone, as if it was completely banned idea. "Is it true she wants to free house elves?"

"Yes, at least the ones that want to be free. For the others she wants wages and help for those who are stuck with cruel masters so that they can leave without being disgraced." Bill told him, very proud of how Hermione's stance had evolved from pure outrage to a plan hopefully more amenable to the house elves over the years. "She's very passionate about magical equality."

"Like you then." Therook told him, Bill privately disagreed with that statement. He was all about treating everyone respectfully and as equals, but he wouldn't call himself passionate about their rights. He'd simply grown up too deep in the wizarding world to even notice half of what Hermione found offensive.

"Sure, it was nice catching up Therook. Do you mind not noting me down in the logs as a visitor tonight? I'm trying to keep a low profile considering there's a price on my head." Bill paused at the edge of the library, having a feeling Therook was going to tell someone he visited anyway.

"Of course, Bill, friend of goblins. You needn't worry with Gringotts turning you in. They came to raid your office when you stopped coming in and were very soundly not allowed." Therook's face lit up greedily, "They got penalized for their audacity."

Bill gave him a feral grin in response, he knew the goblins practically viewed him as property and weren't about to give him up. "Good, that office is rigged for some nasty surprises if anyone, but myself or a goblin goes in."

"I'll bring your mail, Bill." Bill nodded his thanks at the older goblin went off in about as good as a mood as a goblin could be in, probably thinking of the financial bonus the security team got for stopping a raid.

He set about finding the book he needed and settled down with it, making a slight face at the gruesome cover, he always hated how the old dark volumes had such graphic images. He set about reading and taking notes, pausing in thought as he read the very graphic description of how to create a Horcrux. Ginny couldn't be one then, nobody had died, but as he read further his concern didn't abate. The book talked about the effects a Horcrux can have on a person, some temporary like the locket. Some far more permanent, some far more dangerous. ' _Those with prolonged contact have been known to have personality shifts, often towards violence or the other major characteristics of the maker. As horcruxes are able to draw on the wizards magic, it also able to warp it, to shift it towards more nefarious means. It is well known fact that the Brutal Baron of Sussex gave a young nun he was in love with a horcrux in the form of the rosary and she went on to commit unspeakable acts. Even once the object had been destroyed by holy water and fire, her soul cleansed, she was still driven to him, tied so deeply she requested to be burnt at the stake to end the horrible connection._

Bill copied the paragraph and the following ones out onto his parchment, he needed to talk to Ginny. She hadn't shown any of those symptoms, but she also had barely ever talked about what that year was like for her. When Bill had gently tried to ask her she'd simply burst into to tears, ran into her room and slammed the door. He'd been curious then, trying to be a shoulder to lean on, now he needed to know.

Either way, Ginny was not safe. She was known to be close to Harry and had once been a plaything of Lord Voldemort's. He scratched his face in thought, as he put the book back, perhaps he shouldn't let her court. Perhaps, his mother was right and she needed to be Muriel's, locked safely away. Perhaps that was too dangerous in it's own way, to have her so close to their movement if she could still be controlled.

He absentmindedly thanked Therook for his mail as he passed the security desk, glancing at the rolled up parchment and copy of the Daily Prophet. He apparated home, set the mail on the table and went upstairs to check, Griphook had indeed beat him home and Hermione was still fast asleep. Too tied up in his thoughts he made tea, opened the scroll to see a marriage license and managed to smile at the fact the overseeing marriage authority was simply listed as 'magic' in lieu of an officiant's name and upon seeing their marriage was classified as unbreakable he did smile fully. When he got to the Prophet he almost spit his tea all over it. Hermione was going to murder his brothers.

He settled back into his thoughts, so their marriage was public, which meant the plan needed to change once again, Hermione certainly couldn't walk into Gringotts as herself and request to go to his vault. Perhaps they could polyjuice a captured Death Eater and get to the vault under the idea putting something in the Lestrange vault? Snape had been able to do that before. He'd have to check with Kingsley to see who they had in custody and how long they'd been missing. He needed to ask Griphook who all had authorized access to the vault.

He felt the bond start to tremble and was not at all surprised to see when he got up to check on her that Crookshanks was licking her face and giving him a very intense glare as if blaming him for her distress. He got himself settled in and pulled her into her arms, gently waking her. He resettled her with soft reassurances, pointedly ignoring the tapping on the window until she was sleeping normally again. When he finally opened the window, took the parchment from the falcon, there was only cold fury at the paw print in unicorn blood.

* * *

"Severus?" Said the white haired, bespectacled painting on the wall.

'Yes, Albus?" Snape looked up from reading his latest missives, the Dark Lord was very displeased at their ongoing failure to capture Potter and his friends. Extremely displeased a clever mudblood had married an equally clever firstborn son of one of the sacred twenty eight, blood traitor or not.

"Might I assume Tom will not be offering his congratulations to our young couple?" It was said with a hint of amusement.

"Quite right." He folded his hands, "He rather thinks the new Mrs. Weasley should have an example made of her as should Miss Weasley's beau for flaunting their unnatural courtship."

"Let's set aside his growing fixation on Miss Weasley for the moment as she seems to be in no current danger with her stationed Death Eaters." Albus adjusted his glasses, "If you're amenable, I'd like you to send several items to the new couple. There is a watch in the cabinet that I rather always intended on giving Bill, not being a watch man myself. I think now that he is married he'll find its other properties useful."

Severus raised an eyebrow, "Of course, might I ask if this is a union you foresaw?"

The painting chuckled, "Foresaw? No, though I did spend a rather pleasant afternoon debating the theoretical universality of Gamp's laws with the two of them. Her partiality for him was notable as crushes normally are in girls of that age."

"I suppose if she wanted to be a Weasley, he would be the best choice." While Severus wasn't particularly fond of the eldest Weasley he didn't dislike him either, he was merely neutral. As a boy he hadn't yet learned to curb his tongue in his quest for knowledge or in protection of the brats he called siblings, but the man lacked the pettiness of the childish hatred his less mature charges showed. In their work with the Order he'd always been professional and occasionally provided much needed intellectual stimulus. Severus had been rather pleased when overhearing him scolding his two youngest siblings and Mr. Potter about respect and the importance of potions as a study.

"Indeed. There is also a runic scroll in the cabinet that I believe they will appreciate. The one on fidelity."'

"Very well, then. I'll have Minerva get the items to them. Will everyone who has a portrait at the Ministry check again?" Severus requested and watched several figures disappear. He was second guessing the way he'd passed information this time, but it had to be done on Ministry property and he knew Kingsley's communications were being opened.

"He's leaving now." Called Headmaster Black.

Severus nodded, "How did he look?"

"Rushed, not as happy as someone in his situation should. I believe he got it." Headmaster Black told him.

Severus truly hoped he did that his expectations of the boy's intelligence were not overrated. There was nothing to do now, but wait for news and see if McGonagall disappeared in a rush. He stood up and headed for the staff room to see. Several teachers drifted out as he entered, Poppy giving him a fierce glare, "Headmaster, the Hospital Wing needs extra funds for more potions and bandages due to the new…. detention methods."

He felt his back stiffen, he wasn't a fan of hurting the children, but if it kept them in school where he could intercede it was better than more of them being kidnapped. That was the deal he'd made, he had jurisdiction at Hogwarts and the Carrows had to answer to him. "Of course, Madam Pomfrey. Go ahead and order for next year as well to get the bulk discounts."

She nodded stiffly and left. He made himself a cup of tea, eyeing Minerva and Filius, who'd chosen not to flee in his presence. Filius had been distinctly warmer the past few days since seeing him watching and not intervening as he rounded up the twin spawns of the Pan the trickster. He moved towards them, "Filius, I trust your pest problem hasn't repeated itself?"

'No, I believe it was an isolated incident." He shook his head and Minerva folded and unfolded her hands, glancing into her tea. Oh yes, Severus knew about that too, had gone to investigate the loud voices only to spy her dragging another Weasley to the trophy room for some unknown reason.

"I trust Mr. Filch will be pleased to know his duties won't be added to." Severus took a seat and saw both of their lips twitch slightly. It was a well known fact that Argus Filch had gone to the chapel on grounds in thanks the day the twins decided to end their education early. He'd been back many times since to curse at their inventions and continued presence in his dreary life. It had taken some work on Severus' part to persuade him not to file a complaint with the Ministry over the treatment of his cat, but Severus, as much as he detested the twins, didn't want it out that they'd been in the castle.

"Severus, we were discussing the latest research periodical from Durmstrang. I personally feel this volume was rather disorganized." Minerva invited him into their conversation.

He opened his mouth to agree, the potions section hadn't even been new research when a woodpecker patronus appeared and shot out a message. He looked at them, looking at each other and said quietly. "Go, the floo in my office isn't monitored."

They left briskly, Filius giving him a curious look back and he set about canceling their afternoon classes, feeling hopeful. The message had made it.

* * *

Oliver Wood was cheerily joshing around with his guards when a new mail carrier dropped by his cell, passing over the fan mail that had been pouring in, his cockney accent thick. "Sure are getting a lot of these, aren't you?"

Oliver shrugged, it seemed being imprisoned for a quidditch prank and held on various made up charges had made him dashing to most of Britain's witches. They'd been writing him about their protesting efforts to get him released. "It helps pass the time. I read it all eventually, just can't do it all at once."

The mail man caught his eye, shifting one letter farther out. "You really should be more responsive."

Something in the man's tone caused Oliver's spine to feel like ice had been thrown on it and his good mood melted away, "Of course. Today I'll make it a priority. Normally I do it in bits, otherwise my fiancé says it goes to my head." He gave a laugh looking at the guards who were setting up a card game, dealing a hand for him, "I really shouldn't keep putting writing back off."

The unfamiliar mailman left and Oliver pulled the letter to the top of the pile, brushing off the guards offers, "He got my guilt trip. Can't leave pretty witches waiting."

He opened it, reading the message of how he had a whole bunch of new fans and slowly unfolded the parchment to find a list of names and addresses and his insides clenched. This was Order stuff and he was trapped, helpless. He couldn't recognize a single name on the list and that was disconcerting in and of itself, considering the handwriting looked vaguely familiar. He sat there stewing through his regular daily interview with Umbridge, where he still refused to say a word or drink the tea she brought him. For once, not taunting her with bored or disgusted facial expressions, not tossing the photos she showed him to the ground, not completely ignoring her by reading his fan mail. At the end something new happened, a familiar Bulgarian figure appearing at the hallway, "I don't haff all day. Appearance to make."

Umbridge's face looked even more pinched than normal, her voice no longer the girlish tones. "Mr. Wood, while it is against my recommendation, certain…parties feel it is time you are released."

She practically shoved his wand at him and he took it with a sigh of relief, taking the Puddlemere robes he'd been left in. She marched out. A quick change later and grabbing his fan mail, minus one mysterious piece of parchment shoved into his robes, he said his goodbyes to his guards. They were good chaps for the most part, just in a crap job. "Owl me, I'll get you tickets and we'll all go for a pint sometime."

He fell into step with Viktor, "Thanks, man. How?"

One of the hunched shoulders rolled, "They haff been protesting your ministry, I vas called to bring international protest."

Oliver grinned like a fool, quidditch star power was something not to be reckoned with in the wizarding world. "Hey, did you hear the news about Bill and little one?"

"Vat? Vho?" Krum asked as they reached the elevator and Oliver dug out the copy of the Prophet from the day before and handed it over, knowing he still couldn't completely say her name right, guessing he couldn't either. Krum's face abruptly changed at seeing the front page, going from his normal sour expression to completely dour and he took a large swallow. Oliver abruptly remembered she and Krum had dated.

"I'm sorry- I forgot you two were close." He squeezed Krum's shoulder, seeing his eyes bore into the photo of Bill and Hermione looking at each other adoringly, her laughing at something he said as he stole a kiss and twirled her on a beach.

"Does not matter now. She vill be mad at phrasing." Krum didn't seem to be able to look away from the photo of her and Oliver took a second glance, he'd never really looked twice at Hermione, but there as a blushing bride he had to admit she was stunning. The edges of the paper were crumpling, Krum was gripping it so hard. "I can keep?"

"Yeah." Oliver told him, feeling truly sorry for Krum. If he ever had to see Alicia look that happy with another man he had no idea what he'd do other than make a complete fool out of himself trying to get her back. He tried not to smile at the thought of seeing her, it had been so long.

The lift opened and Oliver was truly surprised at what awaited them in the atrium, the protesters wearing Puddlemere and Chudley gear, carrying signs calling for his freedom. Flabbergasted he gave them all a grin and a wave, hearing the cameras click as they cheered. Any other day he would have stayed and talked to every single one of them, posed for photos and signed autographs. Instead he headed for an apparition point, pausing. "I'd love to stay and chat, but my big mouth keeps getting me more cell time."

There was laughter and he went on, desperately wanting to be away, the parchment felt like it was starting to itch and burn. "I can't thank you all enough for your support and while I'm anxious to see daylight, I do want to make sure I thank each of you personally." He was rambling now, using his wand to draw out a piece of parchment and ink. "Send this around and I'll write you all, we'll grab pints or coffee one on one!"

Without waiting he twisted, focusing on landing near the first address he'd seen on the list. He wanted to see Ali, but this was more important and the damn parchment was on fire. He glanced around the muggle suburb and hearing the shouts of children went over to investigate, seeing one on the ground, being taunted and hit, except the hits seemed to be sliding off without making contact. Magic. Shit. He threw his voice out, stalking over to them, "Get away from him."

The other boys scattered, giving him strange looks and he approached the little boy, who looked to be no more than five or six. "Are you ok?"

He nodded, sitting up and eyeing him, "Why are you dressed like that?"

"Sports." He said, glancing down at his robes, "My name is Oliver. What's your name?"

"Andrew Higgins." The little boy told him, trying to rub leaves out of his curls as he stood. He held out a formal hand and Oliver mechanically shook it, trying to figure out what was going on, that was the name on his parchment. He glanced around again, this kid was definitely muggleborn. Definitely young enough his accidental magic had started manifesting. How had the muggleborns described when they were approached for Hogwarts? "Andrew, do strange things happen to you sometimes?"

"Why do you want to know?" The little boy had become immediately defensive.

Oliver squatted down, eyeing him, "Well, they happen to me too."

"Prove it." A little stubborn lip was jutting out. Oliver glanced around and pointed at the rose buds in a nearby yard and discreetly cast a spell at them from inside his sleeve. Little Andrew's eyes lit up at seeing them all open to full bloom.

"Let me walk you home, bud." Oliver said, surprised when the little hand eagerly grabbed his.

"Are we freaks? You can call me Andy." He was peering up at Oliver with the similar look his little cousins and fans did. It warmed him and Oliver gave him a full blown smile.

"No, Andy. We're just a little different. We get to go to our own special school. You'll go when you're eleven." Oliver encouraged him, truly hoping he would be able to go to Hogwarts.

"Like superheroes?" The little boy pestered as they turned the corner.

"Not quite-" Oliver started and froze at the sound of a screamed spell and the rising green skull over a house on the block. Without thinking he grabbed the child and twisted to headquarters.

Shaking he drew his wand and summoned his familiar woodpecker, "Protocol Seven. I repeat Protocol Seven. All members needed for emergency evacs."

It broke into a flock and flew off, Oliver dragging his little stumbling charge under the wards. Charlie was running towards him and Muriel could be seen coming from the house. He ripped out the parchment, seeing Ginny and a gorgeous older woman pop through. He shoved the parchment at Charlie. "They're attacking muggleborn kids, My guess is the ones who've recently showed accidental magic."

He shoved the child towards Ginny, who shoved it towards the woman, her voice kind. "Mrs. Robinson will take care of you."

He ripped off the next address. "Have Muriel send people in pairs, no time to waste. It's happening right now. Ginny, with me."

She drew two wands and grabbed onto his arm and they twisted into a horror he would never forget.

* * *

Hermione found herself in a small lull in the frenzy of activity that had been headquarters for the past few hours, softly rocking the baby in her arms. She glanced back to the house where Kingsley and Remus were explaining everything to the adults that had been rescued, then over at hearing Bill's patient voice. "No, it won't hurt if you touch them."

Bill had been roped into George's rapidly thrown together "Muriel's Magical Circus" to distract the gaggle of children, both magical and muggle, who'd been saved. Bill was sitting on the ground with a very tentative little girl reaching out to touch his face, running tiny hands over his scars. Her voice was decisive, "It feels funny, but I like it."

Bill caught her eye and winked, he'd been cornered by some of the bolder children wanting to know if his face came that way. Little giggles of delight showed her Tonks changing her hair color for another group, the pops showing George refilling little cups of popcorn wearing a top hat while Fred was busy molting in and out of being a canary to claps. Scared gasps showed Charlie with children all over him in his dragon story time, showing his scars and pointing at the dragons, his baritone incredibly animated as his hands waved. Hermione shifted the infant, glancing around and heading towards the apparition point where two brothers were standing shoulder to shoulder, one's back incredibly tense.

"She's fine, Ralph. Probably just-" The man Hermione had never met was saying.

"Just what? They left first and aren't back." It was terse and frustrated, "We don't know where they are."

There was silence and Hermione eased up to them, "Ginny and Oliver are both Gryffindors and very capable."

He shot her a severe look that said he simply didn't agree, "I've seen Wood try to duel."

Hermione hadn't and wasn't sure what to say to him in response, his tension palatable. They stood there in silence as Holly the Hufflepuff came and drug his brother off, demanding his help in preparing rooms. Finally she broke it, "It's Ginny. She survives. That's what she does and when you think you can't survive something she forces you to anyway."

"You're her best friend." He glanced at her, she didn't know him well, had only been in a peripheral conversation between him and Ginny when he'd taken them for muggle pizza when visiting Grimmauld Place. She only knew how Ginny felt about him and had a feeling she might never see that easy side of him Ginny described.

She jostled the baby, correcting him firmly. "I'm her sister."

He nodded and crossed his arms to wait. Hermione stayed near him, hearing the footsteps of someone else coming and it wasn't long until there was a crack. Ginny and Oliver appeared, Ginny with a diaper bag and baby in her arms, one arm with a tourniquet. Oliver looked worse, cuts on his face and crusted blood along his ripped shirt. She and Oliver were both holding the hand of a little blindfolded boy, another blindfolded toddler in Oliver's arms, backpacks over his shoulder. Both looked grim, the little boy on the ground bouncing, "Miss Ginny, are we at the surprise sleepover yet?"

"Yes, darling." She bent down and started shuffling with his blindfold, ignoring the sounds of running their way. Hermione watched as Ralph bent to help her, eyes anxiously searching her for more injuries.

Oliver was doing something similar to the little one he'd set down, "Cake now, Miss Ginny?"

Oliver looked up and met Hermione's eyes, passing over the backpacks. "I've got to go back."

Ginny pulled away the blindfold and the child blinked and adjusted before lighting up and running towards someone, "Auntie Elena!"

Ginny blinked and Ralph's tension turned into ice, his jaw starting to tic as he watched the child run for his mother. "Auntie Elena, we have a new nanny! Come meet Miss Ginny."

"What's the last name?" Ralph ground out.

"Harrison." Oliver said, looking confused.

Ralph's jaw completely tensed. "The parents?"

Oliver shared a look with Ginny, she bent down to the little boy Oliver had unblindfolded, "Run after your brother now, sweets. Ask your auntie for cake and I'll come settle you for the sleepover in a few minutes."

"Yes, Miss Ginny." He took off yelling for cake.

She straightened up, her voice losing the tenderness and becoming flat,"We got there too late for the mother. The father is out of the country."

He shut his eyes for a second, the tic in his jaw increasing. "And the people who did it?"

"Both are dead." Ginny said clinically.

Oliver scratched the back of his neck, "I need to go back. See if I can get more information on where the dad is. Maybe grab more clothes for the boys."

"India." It was snapped, "I'll come with you."

"Ralph?" Ginny asked tentatively reaching for his cheek and Hermione wanted to look away from the tenderness there, but couldn't because it was too close to how Bill looked at her. He didn't react to her touch and Hermione thought he looked like he was made of stone.

"She was my cousin." It was emotionless as he turned away, "Let's go."

* * *

They twisted off and Ginny's fierce facade broke for a second before slamming back up. Ginny stood there for a moment and then fell into step with Hermione, completely ignoring Bill when he held out his arms for the baby she held. Hermione gave him the one she carried instead, imploring him to go, to leave this to her, mouthing 'later' at him. He took the bundle, kissed his still frozen sister's forehead, giving her an unreturned hug and went off.

Hermione led her gently to the side, away from the older children, steering her away from the house where the parents and other infants were. Ginny's voice was clipped, "How many?"

"How many what?" Hermione asked softly.

"Orphaned. Killed."

Hermione's heart clinched, "We saved all of the children. We think three magical children lost both their parents, with their siblings we've got seven orphans. Several others lost at least one parent. It's still being sorted, some of them are very young." Hermione took a deep breath and squeezed Ginny's arm, "Kingsley is working on a plan to get them all into hiding in Switzerland starting tomorrow and to try and find relatives. They're debating whether to give them to family or keep them with magical families."

"Harry hated the Dursleys." Ginny noted, shifting her sleeping little charge and managed a grimace meant for a smile. "I'm glad the children are fine."

"Ginny….what happened?" Hermione asked tentatively, "You two left earliest and were last back."

Ginny looked empty, looked as if she'd never felt a ray of sunlight in her life. Her voice was hollow. "We got there as they were playing with the mother, taunting her. They killed her as soon as we made ourselves known." Ginny looked away. "I blocked the doorway to where the children were and Oliver went offensive. It was nasty, Hermione." Her voice was clinical, "I assume one of the Death Eaters killed the other by accident as Oliver and I weren't throwing the killing curse. The other…I'm not sure if it was Oliver or myself, or both of us."

Hermione pulled Ginny into an embrace, Ginny's tone had shifted near the end, trying to convince herself it hadn't been her that dealt the final blow. Ginny was starting to ramble. "If I hadn't had my hairpin I would have been out of the fight from stunners, they would have gotten to the babies. Oliver kept yelling at me to take them, but they'd put up anti-apparition charms and it was too dangerous to try and run with three. Once it was done, I told them I was their new nanny and we were gone so long because I had to feed the baby, Oliver made them snacks and we convinced them we'd just been playing monster outside the door. Convinced them the blood was fake and that their Mum was excited for me by memorizing her to do list and little nicknames." She cracked slightly, "We didn't want them to see the bodies so we made up a story about a sleepover surprise and blindfolded them." Ginny choked, "I had to keep pinching Wood because he looked like he was going to cry. The house is destroyed from the duel." A strangled noise burst out of her and Hermione couldn't understand her next words, something about Ralph. She just pulled Ginny close, softly taking the infant and passing it to a hovering Charlie, who passed it to a farther back hovering Percy and sat on Ginny's other side, wrapping around them both in a bear like hug. He rested his chin on Ginny's shoulder and rocked them both slightly for a minute.

Charlie pulled away, "Gin Gin, let me heal your arm."

She held it out, not looking at them, eyes focused intently on the ground, swallowing whatever emotion she'd just shown. Charlie made quick work of it, gently untying the tourniquet and banishing the blood. Hermione squeezed her other hand, "It's ok to be upset, Gin. It's ok to cry."

The look in Ginny's eyes was distant, locked away. "Later. Pass me the baby back. I need to go see what they need, they don't know what's happened. They just know I'm theirs."

As if to confirm her this a little excited voice called, "Miss Ginny, come see! Come see the magic!"

"Coming, Johnny boy." She stood woodenly and Hermione's heart clenched for her, feeling truly helpless faced with the situation where she'd had to stay behind, wandless, to help try and handle the very confused muggles being kidnapped to safety. She'd rather have been dueling in some ways than handling scared children and angry, terrified adults.

"Charlie, her back!" Hermione pointed at the huge bloodstain there, before realizing Charlie was already off after her. Hermione rushed after him, "Get Aunt Muriel, she needs a full check."

"On it." Was the call back and Hermione drifted towards Bill who was once again patiently answering innocent questions about his 'wild animal attack.' Her heart softened, he didn't seem uncomfortable with their curiosity, not the same way he was self conscious about his scars with adults.

He looked up at her, "Gin ok?"

"No." It was honest, "If you'll pop me back over I'll start making sleeping arrangements. Ginny can at least bring her little family to us."

Bill nodded and rose, shifting the little ones off of him. "You lot go ask Fred, the one in the green hat, if he'll give you some chocolate frogs."

They obediently ran off and Hermione's insides clenched again, if Oliver hadn't gotten that list of seventeen names how many of these innocent children would be dead? How many magical and non-magical little lives would have simply ceased to exist for being born the same way she was, in a different world? Bill's hand was steady in hers, clenching softly as he yelled to Percy what they were off to do.

She was already planning as they walked to the wards, "If we send the boys to the cave, there's four bunks for a family. We can put another in the living room and if Griphook is willing use his room too. You and I can sleep on the beach or in the cave and give up our room."

Bill just squeezed her hand again, "Whatever you think is best, love."

She paused, Bill had simply not waited for a partner and just upon hearing the situation grabbed a piece of parchment and twisted before Muriel was even done talking, "Are you ok, Bill? I know your first extraction was a bit rough…"

His half smile was grim, "Everyone made it out alive, love. I just didn't expect to get pepper sprayed when I went to get the teenage sister from school."

She squeezed his hand, "It seemed a bit extreme considering you were with her father."

"She thought I was kidnapping everyone." He told her, slightly aggravated. He had not been pleased when he showed up with the rest of the family that hadn't been at the house, eyes burning and choking.

"You were, in a way." He glared and she amended, "A good way, biscuit. You've got to admit it must have been scary. It was enough of a shock for my family when McGonagall showed up to offer me admission to Hogwarts and that was done gently. No abrupt toss into the magical world because you're family is about to get murdered."

"Are you ok?" He paused and touched her cheek. "Charlie said he heard you got attacked."

"It was nothing." She murmured, not exactly wanting to tell him a panicked dad had put her in a headlock to try and hold her hostage until Muriel finally popped back through the wards and zapped him. "Alicia said she's going to ask Oliver if they can adopt the first little boy."

There was a pop as they got to the apparition point, showing Oliver and Ralph. Oliver's voice tired, "The please-men were already there."

Hermione didn't correct him, Bill glanced at Ralph. "Have Ginny bring your family over to our place for the night. Hermione's going to make preparations."

He nodded and Bill twisted her and gave her a long look once they landed, his voice soft. "We can't, love. Not right now. Not with the hunt."

"I know." She told him, it didn't hurt any less that she couldn't save a little one from Harry's childhood. She'd never felt particularly motherly before today, she'd babysat on breaks, but never just wanted to wrap up the little babies and hide them from the horrors of the world. She'd never held an orphan for hours before, never had a little bug nuzzling into her and not wanting anyone else when passed off.

He kissed her forehead, "It won't be how it was for Harry, Hermione. I promise you Molly Weasley will simply never allow that to happen again."

She gave him a hug, "Are you going back?"

"I'll help you for a bit first, they've got things under control with most of the Order there. I'd like to get everyone under our wards and settled before it starts pouring."

It seemed like a very long time before she laid down on the cushioned living room floor in Bill's arms, trying to let the sadness of the day pour out of her like rain battering at the windows. He drifted off and she couldn't fall asleep, just stared at the little baby basket Bill had turned their tea cozy into. Stared until the kitchen went quiet and she shut her eyes to allow Ginny and Ralph to settle themselves however on the floor, listened as Ginny rearranged various couched children's blankets before laying down.

No sleep would come and when she opened her eyes again moonlight was glinting off of the tears silently running down Ginny's face, hidden from the man curled around her. She's seen Ginny cry many times, the choked ugly sobs, the hysterics, the frustrated tears of anger, but never like this. Never these soul shattering silent tears that could accept no solace. Her own started and there was some softening for Ginny in that and Ginny too eventually drifted off in exhaustion to end one of the darkest days of the Second War.

* * *

A/N: We're moving onward, reviews loved and especially if you have characters you'd love to see make it through the war.


	24. Muggling it Up

A/N: As always, I think you all are wonderful pearls of reviewers and it's so helpful to know which characters are working and aren't! Today, we've got some muggleborn friendships, just what a wizarding courtship might be and Charlie, lots of Charlie. I'm too jet lagged to catch all of the grammatical errors, so if they're there, I'll catch them at the next airport.

Narrators: Hermione, Charlie, Hagrid, Ron

* * *

Muggling it Up

She was staring blankly at the word carved in her arm, ignoring her tea when someone else came into the kitchen. Voice soft, "Hush, miss hungry."

She glanced up and he glanced down, eyes noting the word and he stilled, she yanked her sleeve down. Ralph dropped onto the bench across from her, eyes still looking at her arm. His voice was quiet, "Don't hide it. It's what we are." He gave a grim half-smile, "I can't even hate the damn slur because it's how I fell in with Charlie, had it thrown in my face before I even saw Diagon Alley."

She winced, thinking it must have been so hard to go in that close to the end of the first war. "Charlie get mad?"

"He didn't have a chance, Mrs. Weasley and McGonagall were all over the woman before she could even finish saying it." He glanced at her forearm, "It was Narcissa Malfoy."

Hermione nodded and swallowed, still not pushing her sleeve back up. Her thoughts went to what she'd seen in the pensive, what she'd been to incoherent with pain to register while being tortured. Narcissa Malfoy who had tried to send Draco from the room, who couldn't watch, who had told her completely insane sister that she didn't want blood on the carpet and to stop using the knife. Narcissa Malfoy who in her small defiances and constant interruptions had probably saved her life on purpose or not. She pushed the thoughts away, today was horrible enough without having an episode. "Today… today could have been us."

He shifted the baby's bottle, "It's not the first time they went after kids."

"Harry." Hermione said quietly thinking of the ruined house in Godric's Hollow and he shook his head, thinking of his own horrors.

"I'm the only muggleborn of my year and the year ahead. Sheer luck saved my family that time." There was a weight in the statement that froze Hermione.

Her words trembled, "What happened?"

He looked off as if trying to remember, "I was only three or so when the house burned down from arson. I think they were after my brother."

Her stomach clenched in horror, she tried to keep her voice controlled. "I thought he was non magical?"

He shifted, glancing at where Ginny was sleeping. "He was on the Hogwarts roll before he was in really bad accident. He was in a coma when his letter should have come." His voice became lower, "Dumbledore told me when I joined the Order. He loves magic, it would kill him to know he really did have it once. Real magic, not the little things he can do with my wand. I told him it's normal for muggles to be able to do a little bit."

Hermione sat there, not having any idea what to say. Hermione wouldn't have told him either, to know you'd been so close and to not have it anymore? She couldn't imagine her life without magic, couldn't imagine what it would be like to see it and know you could have been a part of that world, to be the little mermaid and have to go back to the sea. She pulled the kettle before it whistled, "Was it rough for you? Growing up muggle?"

"Isn't it for everyone?" There was no rancor there, just the commiseration of having strange things happen without any explanation for years. "What was your first burst?"

"My parents forgot my elephant stuffy on vacation and tried to get me one at the airport because I was so upset, but they were out." She blushed, glancing at her hands, "I turned every stuffed animal in the store into elephants. Yours?"

His laugh was a bark, almost like Sirius' used to be. "Brilliant. I accidentally pulled a pot of boiling water off the stove all over my head, but when it hit I turned it into an ice pop. I had to eat my way out."

She tried to stifle her laugh, trying to imagine it, he grinned back. "The nanny told my parents I was a demon child and quit."

"My parents tried to ignore it." She confessed. "Had all sorts of logical explanations for how it was due to a weather phenomenon or someone else's mistake."

"Better than mine, they sent me for all sorts of tests. Poked and prodded I was. Almost got kicked out of boarding school for all of the strange occurrences, but they couldn't really pin it on me."

Hermione had no idea which was worse, willful ignorance or overbearing concern. He was still glancing at Ginny and she sighed. "You weren't asleep were you?"

He shook his head, "She didn't want me to see her break down. I get that."

Hermione gave him a wan smile, Ginny was intensely private about her emotions most of the time, her need to not be weak in front of others part of what led her to confess all of her fears to a diary once. She wondered how much she'd confessed in letters to him. Bill was the same in some ways about the moon, he was currently completely uncommunicative about his tension regarding the upcoming full. "Were you and Ginny writing her first year?"

He nodded, "She mentioned her friend Tom to us and we wrote to Percy about it, he never responded." His grin was slightly feral, "I hear your Bill took his sweet time pulling a furious Charlie off of Percy in Egypt."

"I bet. Would you like me to make you tea?" He shook his head and she tried to gently shift topics and gestured at the baby, "At least they'll know. Your mum said she wanted to tell the dad."

He nodded, but didn't look particularly happy. "Doubt it will go over well, he's a complete prick. We'll have to set up a story for the kids, I imagine they've been reported missing." He rubbed his forehead, "They'll get questioned so Ginny will have to go and get interviewed, which will be a disaster."

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, then shut it and glanced guiltily at where she could see her asleep on the floor. "Give her a calming draught before. She's going to get frustrated and confused at the process."

He nodded, "You should have seen her with the coke machine. So glad it's on a different floor in the office because everyone around us thought she was mental. I told her I was out of change after the fifth time. It's the little stuff that I forget to tell her that throws her off or she gets excited by."

Hermione laughed. "You should have seen Bill when he discovered video games, turned into a seven year old."

He laughed shifting his little bundle to get burped, "Charlie is a mess at muggling too. He's flat out terrified of the tube, I accidentally got off without him his first time and I had the tokens."

Hermione smiled as he shook his head, she could just imagine a young confused Charlie not knowing what to do and just staying on the train or wandering around stuck, completely clueless. He shook his head as he burped the baby and she sipped her tea, her next words a confession as she tugged at her sleeve, feeling guilty. "My parents don't know I exist anymore or what their real names are." She swallowed. "If you need help hiding your family…I…well I can help."

He was rubbing the baby's back, light green eyes thoughtful. "Thank you, but it wouldn't work." His expression was best described as a grimace, "Even if they didn't know who they are, other people would recognize them. You've seen how the rags pounced on Ginny just for being near them."

"She can't stop reading them." Hermione told him and he looked aggravated. She got the distinct impression he was already very much aware of the fact.

He confirmed her suspicions. "Part of my nightly routine is discussing whatever slander it is now over the phone."

By that he probably meant calming Ginny down and not letting her send dung bombs to muggle publishers. Ginny wandered in sleepily, her face still looking slightly streaky. "Oh, I love the phone. When I get bored I use that book and call people."

He gestured for her, "Don't do that, it's dangerous. C'mere, sweetheart."

Ginny yawned gesturing for the baby and plopped down next to him, sipping Hermione's tea before leaning against his shoulder. "Here, let me have her."

"I'm fine." His arm was pulling her close and Hermione realized she was very quickly ceasing to exist at the table and quietly got up. She didn't try and go sleep, just left them to their whispered conversation on why she shouldn't do that and got up to start trying to lay the foundations of breakfast. She sliced a loaf of bread and stalled, trying to think just how she was going to cook for quite so many people. What did Mrs. Weasley usually do?

"Come lay back down. I'll make breakfast in the morning." Bill said, slipping his arms around her and dropping his head on hers from behind. His side of the bond filled with slight unrest.

"I'll just toss and turn, Bill. Just go back to sleep." She tried to encourage him, pecking his cheek before gesturing for him to grab the porridge from the cabinet.

He didn't let go of her as he reached up for her. "Don't like it without you and you need your rest, love."

She turned in his arms, pressing her face against his chest for a minute. "Bill, I hate this." She could feel more tears threatening and he pulled her towards the door and the wet sand outside.

"I know, love." Bill told her softly, flicking his wand to start creating a blanketed, pillowed nest of the porch swing.

"We can't leave them alone." She said half-heartedly and Bill raised an eyebrow.

"There's other people in the house, pet." Bill told her, starting to fluff at his little creation, "I can hex his hands if it'll make you feel better."

"Hexing your hands didn't work, Bill."

Bill gave her a huge, smug grin. "He's not as clever as me. Come lay down, love."

She didn't think she could sleep, but a soft test of the bond told her Bill wanted her to curl up with him. He needed to feel his arms around her, know she was safe so he could drift off and forget the horrors of having to stop mugglesport and rescue a family. She settled in and when he went to hold her pulled his head to the crook of her shoulder instead, letting him be the one who was held. He snuggled in happily, his words thoughtful and pragmatic. "I'll have to reschedule the formal acceptance and reading with him. It'll be busy for the next few days, but we've got to squeeze it in before the hunt. Maybe the day after next."

"I still think it's completely insane they're doing it this way."

Bill kissed the side of her neck in a soothing fashion, "Can't really do it otherwise, now. I know you don't get the pureblood customs, love, but this is actually a huge honor for Ginny and the Weasley line. They're not looking at it that way of course, just wanting to make Mum and Dad more at ease. Tonks really screwed them, it's a huge insult if he withdraws the suit and while I could reject it that stirs up the blood prejudices. If we weren't blood traitors I imagine I'd be staring down owls with counter courtship offers. Gin's the first girl in generations, seventh born of a seventh born. Even muggles count that as something to be reckoned with."

"Your dad or Mum?" She asked, adjusting the blankets around him.

"Mum was seven of nine and she barely mentions any of them. Most of them died in a bad halycorn plague along with her parents, Uncle Ignatius practically raised her and the twins. The only one left alive disowned her over Dad and Muriel disowned him. You have to ask Muriel if you want to know anything."

She didn't say anything, just let him start to drift off face buried into her. He didn't, shifting with his own unrest, after a long time he started to kiss her neck in some attempt at comfort. "Bill, you can't be serious right now."

"It's a stress reliever." He murmured, lips sliding higher as his hands started to graze. "Excellent distraction from an awful day."

"We're right outside the door." Her protest was weak, a hand already tangling in his hair.

He whispered the disillusionment charm as he shifted on top of her with a wink. "Nobody sees, remember?"

They reaffirmed that even on the darkest of days there was love, that even in the face of senseless deaths and pouring rain there was life to be cherished. She lost herself in him, in the sureness of his presence and the safety of his magic, the sweetness of his lips.

"Bill, I'm scared." She confessed curled against his chest watching the sun peek over the ocean.

"Me too, love." He squeezed her honestly, "So is everyone crammed in the house. Let's handle it one step at a time, starting with breakfast because I'm hungry now. I'll start the porridge if you'll handle the tea? When people start waking up I'll put on eggs and bangers and you can do beverage and plates."

Somehow the practicality of settling who would cook what at breakfast was exactly what she needed to settle back into herself. "We've got the cold ham as well, I think we'll run out of jam."

"I'll grab some from the stash." It sounded completely unapologetic.

"Bill, are you telling me when we rearranged the kitchen you hid jam away?"

"Ron." He winked at her.

"Good thinking." She pecked his cheek as she untangled herself. Ron's love of his mother's jam was so extreme he'd frequently carried it in his schoolbag just to devour it on toast at breakfast, scoffing at the house elf's attempts at jam making.

"C'mon, let's go be good hosts and if you'd like I'll ask your mother to show me how to make her jam."

"I'd love that. Jam days are a real family affair, I've been on sterilizing duty since I could be trusted not to burn myself. Dad and Mum handled the cooking and canning, the twins and Percy were berry pickers, Charlie is ingredients boy, Ron and Ginny are berry smashers." He gave her a hopeful grin, "Maybe someday we'll carry on the tradition with our bairns."

She smiled back at him, thinking of the little baby she hadn't want to let go of. "I'd like that."

He winked at her, "Made the mistake of mentioning I was using vacation time to go make jam with my mum and my curse breaker friends took the mickey out of me. Got back to Egypt to find my room had been jammed out. My bed was gone, just a mattress on a ton of jam jars." He gave a huge grin, "Then they tried Mum's fairberry jam and all shut their mouths."

She opened the door, "Guess it's not just Ron that has jam issues."

"Jam? You two are out, bloody inconvenient." Ginny said from the stove where she seemed to be doing about four things at once.

They smiled at each other and laughed, his arms squeezing her. "Bill's hiding it from Ron."

"Bloody brilliant." Ginny grinned back, "Now, Bill go help Ralph cut up fruit and find enough plates or start transfiguring some. Hermione, I need some of the bread cut into strips for French toast for the little ones then I need-"

"Have you turned into Mum?" Bill asked with a slightly horrified, slightly awed expression.

"Shut up and get to work." Ginny was physically dragging Hermione to her work station and pointing at what needed doing.

"Yes, Mum." Bill joked.

"I prefer Miss Ginny. Move it, Bill. Hermione, how many people are we trying to feed? Break it down into adults and children."

"You've entered a nanny state, we think of the dictator -"

"Don't you start with me, Ralph!" Ginny exclaimed and shook her spoon at him.

"Be careful, my friend. She'll hit you with it. Mum would spoon your hand and then Ginny would run over and whack you with her own little wooden spoon to imitate her idol." Bill told him, dodging the wooden spoon thrown his way and Hermione laughed. As long as there were moments like this, it no matter how dark it got it was going to be alright.

* * *

"What happened to you?" Bill asked Charlie in slight horror, Charlie hadn't had his hair cut that brutally short since he was at Hogwarts and Mum ran the hair show.

"Mum." Charlie was extremely annoyed. "Used a five year old kid who was stressed over how he'd missed his haircut, so Mum said she'd cut it for him with magic. He was afraid so she roped me into helping 'show him it's ok, just a tiny trim, Charlie'. Be on your guard."

"Mum's back?" Bill smiled, "Good, this sort of coordination effort is right up her alley."

Charlie glanced at the dragons, "Yeah, Kingsley recalled her for it, which is perfect timing. It sounds like her patience with Fleur was getting close to the breaking point. Though she did bring back a ton of wedding gifts from her." Charlie dropped back into an imitation of their Mum, "Just not right, buying his wife lingerie after what she's done."

Bill just shook his head, "Fleur probably went overboard, bet Hermione has a whole new wardrobe. Fleur is nuts over having a real witch friend and Hermione is knitting something for the baby."

Charlie shrugged not particularly caring, "Hell, I'd like to see your wife in what I saw when I peeked. Where is she? Maybe I'll ask her to model."

Bill gave him a shove, "Should have spoken up sooner, freckle face, she's taken. She's supposed to be picking out a wand with Mr. Ollivander, but she's wrangling Harry into talking with the orphans about he grew up as one." Bill shook his head again, "She just wants to hold 'her baby' again. It's killing her that these are all kids like she was, completely ignorant of magic. Charlie, I think she feels guilty it wasn't her, that she got to save her parents and hide them away and didn't think to do it for all of these little ones."

Charlie got down to business, he only had a little bit of time before he, the twins and Muriel set off with the first batch to Switzerland. "She takes too much on herself, but speaking of babies. Since you're old can you think of anyone from your friend group that might be open to a placement?"

"I'll have to think on it, I can write some owls. There's a couple that's been married practically since Hogwarts who've been trying for years, so they may be a good fit."

"Thanks." Now Charlie shifted, "Bill, I've got some idea of what they're planning, well you too now. Ron's terrible at whispering, you know?"

Bill nodded, crossing his arms and waiting for Charlie to go on. Charlie shifted, this could go badly. "Are you ok with letting her go into danger like that?"

Bill's face hardened. "No, but I also know I can't stop her, that's why I'm going with her. Whether she likes it or not."

Charlie shifted his weight a few times, he never liked these omens and there were very few people, Bill being one, who put any weight into this erratic magical skill that ran in the Prewetts. He couldn't look directly at his brother and ran a hand up his now awfully short hair, "I had the dream again, Bill. He felt Bill tense and managed to say what he knew would destroy his brother. "Still rather vague, it's not completely set yet, I think, if that makes any sense? But I think….well I think it was Hermione who was screaming."

Bill's jaw had locked, his face was so frozen he looked like a sculpture, "Could it have been the past? Or just because you were tired from yesterday?"

He shook his head, "No, but you also know I'm not a true Seer. When I did that thing in Japan to try and figure it out I learned that much, well and that I'm terrible at oracular haikus."

Bill looked torn, "I shouldn't have married her, Charlie how you could let me do that? Why didn't we think of the dream you've had when I got mauled?"

He kicked at the ground, feeling like an idiot himself. The first one had come sleeping on the floor of the hospital wing the night Dumbledore had died and he'd chalked it up to being upset over Bill's state. "Maybe it's just stress, yesterday was just as rough."

"Three warnings, isn't that how those work? This is number two." Bill's voice was a torn snap. "Godric, Charlie I won't be able to live with myself if I hurt her."

"Bill, you can't hurt her. I truly believe that." He put a hand on Bill's shoulder and squeezed, "Truly, Remus has never once hurt Tonks or the baby, doesn't think Moony can."

"Well, I'm not Saint fucking Remus." Bill shook him off, running an angry hand through his hair.

"Bill, has it occurred to you that it might be an outside attack? Or that I'm wrong about this? Bill, you did fine at the last moon, just got a little overprotective and randy, that's all."

"You have no idea what was running through my head." Bill's voice was taut, "No idea how much more I've felt wolfish since she came to Shell. I got jealous of the goblin yesterday."

Charlie himself could be prone to jealousy, but Bill hadn't gotten to know the green eyed monster until he was mauled. He didn't know what to say. "Griphook is a little shit."

"Charlie, you don't get it. I want to chase her scent and run after her, to catch her and play a lot more roughly than we've been." It was an unwanted confession and for a moment Charlie ached for the old Bill. The easy going and laid back Bill who was only serious when it mattered, not this brother who had to struggle with the changes in his blood.

Charlie didn't know what to say, especially not with Aunt Muriel calling his name. "Look Bill, I'm happy to be there as a failsafe, but you two have to have a candid talk about it ahead of time or get less vanilla if that's all it is. The last thing you want to do is try and fight it and lose, then scare the shit out of her. I've got to go, but we'll talk later and come up with a plan."

He clapped Bill on the back, leaving him to his thoughts and picked up a jog, calling over his shoulder. "If you're free today go buy more cattle, Helena's appetite is upping."

He waved at Muriel and at the tense families standing next to her, "Alright, let's get going."

Several apparitions and a lot of train tickets later he found himself dropping into a seat next to Muriel at the back of their packed train car, glancing at the door one more time to test the wards. Good, anyone who got close would suddenly find they wanted to be somewhere else further back on the train. Muriel gave him a smile, "Fred and George are going to do games."

"I'm hurt, Aunt Mury. You like them more than me now."

She shook her head and reached out to pinch his cheek at his old nickname for her. "No, you're still my favorite. I am glad they turned into men, law breaking ones, but men all the same."

Charlie laughed, the twins had never cared much about what anyone thought of their goals. "Auntie you've got your own wanted poster, that's the pot calling the kettle black."

She ignored his comment, "Who is this girl you're seeing?"

Charlie was a terrible liar and he knew it, he forcibly didn't flush and stuck to the truth. "I just got dumped by a girl in Romania, she got questioned about my whereabouts and I'm apparently a sneaky lying bastard."

"I hope you were rude back." Muriel said, "You should take care with a man's heart when you're letting him down."

"It was casual and I wasn't. Her roommate left a phone message with my mate, his ex ripped into him good. Thinks he's a spy or doing something illegal with all of the burn injuries, called his boss to try and get him fired." Charlie didn't even feel bad that he found it completely hilarious, so much ammunition to take the piss out of him.

"Ginny's suitor?" It was said with a large amount of derision.

He nodded and winced in anticipation. He wasn't disappointed. "Arrogant, that one, thinks he's prince of muggleborns. Would just waltz into the house at mealtimes reeking of dragon, then runs off to play muggle and leaves me with two unwanted pets. They upset my dogs."

Charlie really didn't want to tell her that she was now one dog short due to a very curious dog and a very hungry dragon. "He'll keep Ginny in line. I saw you having tea with Angelina, do you like her?"

"Tried to, but she's not good enough for Georgie. Have you seen her skinny ankles?"

"Please tell me you didn't say anything to her about her ankles?" Charlie had no idea what Muriel could possibly mean about ankles.

"Of course I did, they mean she's going to wobble on how she feels about him. Told her playing quidditch was a pastime not a job too." Oh Godric, Muriel must have run out of her potion and just insulted her throughout tea. "Now tell me about this girl you're seeing."

"Auntie Mury," He tried her special nickname again in some attempts to offset the firmness in her voice. She was going to harass him the whole trip if he didn't kill it now. "I'm not seeing anyone."

She took out her knitting needles and set them to work, giving him a long look. "Well you've got hours to overcome your shyness about telling me. Best get it over with."

Oh Godric, she was bound and determined with that look in her eye. Could he switch her potion out and let her go senile? No, no, she would be even worse. Keep the silence, he dug around for a book and Muriel's sharp voice came. "Is it that single mother who was making a spectacle of herself trying to talk to you? Bending over like that to show you her pumpkins."

Charlie flushed it had happened right in front of Minerva on top of everything else, "She was just getting something off the ground, it had nothing to do with me."

Muriel made a sound of derision and Charlie internally flinched as he glanced around and could see the woman in question clearly listening to their conversation. "No. Like I said, I'm not seeing anyone. There's no time with how busy we are."

"Bill found time to make sure he doesn't die alone." She scolded him.

Well that was a nice cheery thought, "What about Aunt Muriel? Any old wizards in your life? You've been out for tea quite a bit with Algie."

She folded her hands very primly, "Algie Longbottom simply has some new plants in his greenhouse I'm interested in."

"You're interested in a lot more than his plants." He got pinched in response. Great Aunt, Charlie, keep your mouth shut.

"You've been whistling constantly, tell me about her." She poked him in the side and dug in her purse to pull out a candy, offering it to him like he was five.

"I always whistle, drove Bill and Percy nuts when I did it in our room." Another truth though he was starting to get antsy, maybe he could get up and do a round and get one of the twins to switch places.

"She's Scottish isn't she? You've been whistling jigs." He took the candy and shoved it in his mouth, crunching loudly. He couldn't talk if he was eating.

He started to stand, crunching and gesturing at Fred and Muriel just pulled him back into the seat, "You're not getting away."

Damn. "She's helping me pick out a wedding gift for Bill and Hermione. We're just friends."

"Have you asked her on a date?" Muriel questioned, not releasing her vice like grip on his arm.

"No." She clutched and he flinched, "What?"

"Don't be a fool, Charlie. If you like her take her out or some other bloke will snap her up. Happened to poor Ronald, his own brother too." She shook her head. "William should be ashamed of himself taking away the only girl willing to put up with Ron's nonsense."

"Ron will find someone." Charlie said firmly, Ron was growing up into a man and a good one at that. She hit him with a hairbrush out of her purse.

"Some squib, if that. Why haven't you asked her for a turn on the dance floor?" Muriel demanded and Charlie internally rolled his eyes. Muriel had started to lose her mind as Ron hit his terrible twos and had a rather irrational dislike for him as a result. If only she hadn't gone in as a backup at St. Mungo's and had that awful fall, if only Ron when visiting hadn't decided to try and play catch with her without saying anything and just thrown a ball directly into her face repeatedly.

"Does it matter if she's a squib or not? Ron will be fine and he's had a girlfriend before."

Muriel's face showed she highly doubted that. "Is she married or what's the reason?"

"She was married when I met her." It slipped out and he mentally cursed himself, he'd been a kid then, just starting Hogwarts. Oh, he didn't want to talk to anyone about this, let alone Minerva. How was he ever supposed to tell her he demanded so many quidditch meetings with her to fill her time because his mother had written something about how sad she'd been to hear of Professor McGonagall's husband's passing and she wondered if she should invite her to a bridge club to help fill her empty evenings. He'd been trying to be nice, he sure hadn't expected a little crush and certainly hadn't expected to find when the Second Order started that he'd still find her an intriguing conversationalist. Hadn't expected her smart quips on their first mission together to bring back that tingle or to find he liked the sound of her laughter, something he was pretty sure he'd gone seven years at Hogwarts without hearing.

Muriel looked like a cat that had gotten the cream, "So tell me the problem? Does she have children? Another man?"

"No. Look, Aunt Muriel I really don't want to talk about it. It's complicated and I'm not going to humiliate myself." More than I already have, it had been bad enough wearing one of her robes, equally as cringe inducing when he opened the package to find she'd found his wallet and watch strewn somewhere in her rooms.

Muriel let go of his arm and he rose, desperately wanting out of the situation. She grabbed his hand, stilling him, her words thoughtful. "My sweet Charlie, you've made a fool of yourself plenty of times before. Why not be one in love?"

"Tell Algie you want a turn on the dance floor yourself and I'll think about it, Aunt Muriel." He bent and kissed her cheek, completely needing to get away. "Take a nap, we've got time."

He left her to her thoughts and steadfastly didn't look at miss pumpkins, getting to his brother in a thoughtful and desperate state. "Trade places with me, my sweet old bat is playing cupid."

Fred grinned and dropped his magic trick, "I'm your man then."

Fred did not avoid the gaze of the woman who'd flirted shamelessly with all of them, he boldly winked at her. His voice floated back down the train to Charlie and he smiled, "Hear you're playing matchmaker, Muriel. Charlie's hopeless, who've you got for me?"

"What about the blonde one? The little dreamy girl who's staying with Andromeda? You're both strange."

"Luna?" Fred sounded completely startled and his eyes were huge in alarm and Charlie chuckled to himself, he'd talked to the girl yesterday and had been very confused as to her explanation of his freckles.

"Playing a joke, Freddie. Now sit down and let's get serious." Muriel patted the seat next to her, pulling a hard candy from her purse and offering it to him.

"I don't do serious well." Fred sat taking his candy, looking rather alarmed and shooting Charlie a very much 'you owe me' look. Charlie threw him a thumbs up in response, bent down and picked up the magic trick to try and entertain their little charges.

* * *

"Grawpy?" Hagrid called, "Fang, find Grawp!"

Fang didn't have to do a thing, the ground shook as his brother lumbered towards him and Hagrid gave him a huge smile. He hugged him, despite the dead unicorn over his shoulder, he'd talk to McGonagall about it later, about how finding another one with a slit throat was becoming troubling.

"Hagger." Grawp pointed at the unicorn, "For Hermy?"

"Hermione? No, no. Though I do need to get her a weddin' present, keep forgettin'."

"Weddin?" Grawp sounded out the new word and looked expectantly at him for an explanation. Learning had been slow, but they were getting there and Grawpy loved new words.

"Hermione got married," he dug around in his coat and pulled out the newspaper to show him the photo. "Just like Maxine and I are going to do. It'll be a big thing, you'll be there! You have a wedding when you get married."

"Marry! Wedding where Grawp wear tie and hat?" Hagrid nodded happily. Grawp looked at the photo before frowning and pointing at the unicorn again. "Give horsey horn to Hermy." He hit a tree, "Grawp heard centies, stars say Hermy need horsey horn or Hermy no more."

"Look at how long that sentence was!" Hagrid encouraged, insides frowning at the words. "What did they say?"

"No ustand." Grawp shook his massive head sadly and waved his boulder like hand towards the sky.

His face cragged in frustration and Hagrid hugged him again, "It's okay, Grawpy. You did good, you got enough to tell me Hermione needs the unicorn horn." His hair was blown back from a large sniffle, "Good Grawpy. I need a word with the herd as it is. Dark times." Hagrid pulled back and gave a smile, "What else have you been up to, Grawp?"

"Ate. Saw them, Korag getting close." Grawp didn't look happy, "Grawp scared."

Hagrid was scared too, giants had returned to England at last and that wasn't a good sign at all. "Good Grawp. We'll move you somewhere new if we have to, no going back to being picked on!"

Grawp smiled at the news and Hagrid wondered how soon he could set out again without raising suspicion, "You'll show me where?"

He got a nod as Grawp plopped himself down and picked up one of his toys, very carefully winding the music box Hagrid had built for him. "I've got to go, Grawpy. Need to talk to the centaurs about Hermione."

Grawp nodded and went back to his to watching the little dancing spiders. Hagrid shifted the unicorn and headed for another part of the forest with Fang at his heels. "Magorian?"

He melted out of the woods, several others not far behind. He looked somber. "Hello, Hagrid."

"You heard then? About the kids?" Hagrid asked roughly.

He nodded, still somber and distant, "We saw it in the heavens."

Hagrid shifted the weight of the unicorn to his other shoulder, "I know you lot won't intervene, think it all doesna concern you, but it'll be your foals they're after soon enough."

The forest was heavy around them, weighing down with the certainty of the statement. "We do not intervene-"

"Once he realizes how smart you are, he'll intervene." Hagrid lectured at them, just because Lord Voldemort had never bothered to talk with a centaur didn't mean he wouldn't someday. "Try and make you his puppets."

"We're not giants."

"No, but you're fools if you think he'll leave you alone. He'll kill you lot if you don't tell him what you see. Done it before with Seers." Fang whimpered, "Look, I'm not telling ya how to run your herd, but I'm telling ya to heed the signs. Now what is this about Grawp wanting to give Hermione a unicorn horn?"

Magorian's face didn't change, but his tail flicked guiltily and Hagrid had a sneaking suspicion they'd spoken purposely where Grawp could hear the conversation. "We do not share what the stars tell us."

Hagrid nodded his thanks and started to turn to go, "The Headmaster came to see us."

"What the bloody hell did Snape want?" Hagird's anger was rising, "Damn double crossing traitor."

"Not everything is as it appears, Hagrid. Please tell Harry Potter one of what he seeks lies in the castle."

"Go well." Hagrid nodded and set off in a blinding state of anger, he fully intended on giving Hermione the unicorn horn and had no intention of telling Harry anything that would lure him right into a trap set by Snape, he loved Harry too well for that.

* * *

Hermione left the room after accepting her chaperone present, furious that she wasn't allowed to stay, that no women were. Mrs. Weasley was waiting for her, beckoning. "Hurry or we'll miss it."

"Miss what?" Hermione asked in utter confusion, looking to see where everyone had gotten to.

"Muriel said it's tradition for the girl to hide and watch the questioning with her closest confidants to judge if she wants the courtship rejected, she set up a chamber of secrets." Molly Weasley was girlishly excited, "We've got wine and snacks, it takes hours."

Hermione grinned, "What do we do if Ginny says stop?"

"Storm the room." Molly whispered, bustling her into the room and she dropped into a seat on the end by Ginny. "Muriel said she was at one where the girl went in and just hexed him until they stopped her." A giggle, "I think it might have been Muriel herself."

She took her glass of wine, waving at Tonks walking and bouncing her baby, Mrs. Weasley dropping into a seat on Ginny's other side. "You have to eat something, Ginny. Mrs. Robinson said you didn't eat breakfast."

"She didn't, just pushed it around her plate. Oh, my baby looks so nervous." She shook her head, "He shouldn't have skipped his hair cut with you, Molly. Charlie's looks so sharp."

Mrs. Weasley nodded emphatically in agreement and Ginny shook her head. "I like it that way and Charlie hates his, said his scalp got sunburned. You shouldn't have done that to him, Mum."

"Shush, Ginny. It looks like they're getting started on the rest of it." It truly did, Mr. Weasley was sitting back down next to Bill, placing the firewhiskey on the table between them and Charlie and Ralph.

"It was nice of Charlie to be his witness." Hermione whispered to Ginny.

"Did you like your present? He wanted to do muggle for you." She nodded emphatically and Ginny gave a relieved smile, he'd given her a book of muggle fairy tales they'd both grown up with before they knew magic was real with hand drawn illustrations.

"I want you to know I never meant for this to happen, to end up with feelings for Ginny." It tumbled out inside the room of decision making men. Inside Hermione's own parlor and it still rankled that she wasn't allowed to be there, that Ginny wasn't.

Mr. Weasley set his drink on the table, his voice easy going. "Ralph, we're not upset, not even surprised really. We'd figured it might come to something like this sooner or later with how your magic used to set hers off. Molly's thrilled that your personalities seem compatible too, it's always a toss up."

Ralph set down his teacup looking rather out of sorts, even slightly angry, Bill followed suit, "Dad, what are you talking about?"

"Back when there was a marriage law families used to take their little daughters around to the different families to try and figure out who her magic fit with and let her get to know them as she grew up over being married off to a stranger when she was deemed old enough. Compatible magics tend to have a draw towards each other, for better or worse. Both of you would have bursts of accidental magic around each other, Ginny more so because she couldn't control it as well yet."

"So I never had a choice? It was just inevitable that I was going to fall for her? That I was going to lose my mind over my best mate's little sister and feel like a git for months over it? Godric." He was rather angry and Ginny looked equally tense next to her.

"Gin?" Hermione whispered.

Ginny gave her a small smile to show she was ok, "He blew up part of the Burrow once because Ron locked me in the pantry and I got scared."

"Bloody hell, do you have any idea how awful it was to think something was wrong with me? To realize I'd gone on a string of first dates with redheads in some sort effort to drown her out?" He ran a hand through his hair, "To be some sort of fool always glancing hopefully up at breakfast to see if there was an owl?" He had apparently worked himself into ranting and abruptly stopped, just grabbing his firewhiskey and downing it.

Mr. Weasley sighed and took a sip, "No, I don't, but it wasn't inevitable, Ralph. There's always a choice and most of the time the personalities of magically compatible people don't mesh, whatever feelings you two have aren't related to the magical aspect of things." He sighed and the suitor looked no less unhappy with himself, "The old law got repealed because so many of the marriages were explosive disasters and it drove people to start doing crazy things. The last Ginerva Weasley was killed because of it and a lot of people went over to a dark wizard who was promising to stop the law. People even voluntarily broke their own wands and went to live muggle to avoid their matches. Yet, some of the pureblood families still take their daughters around to try and test."

"Good Godric. Breaking your own wand." He looked mollified, if still tensely thoughtful and Ginny looked relieved.

Mr. Weasley raised an eyebrow at the tone, "I'll give you a reference book. Look at Bill, he and Fleur got engaged despite the fact they were so incompatible that even the latch wouldn't work, Molly and I are almost opposites magically and we're very happy. We balance."

Bill sounded intrigued, "Can I borrow the book? I'm curious about Hermione and I. Both our wands are interchangeable, she just prefers the shorter one because it fits her hand better."

His dad shifted, "Let him have it first, Bill. You and Hermione are compatible, that's why your mother kept telling you not to tease her about her crush. Charlie, do remember when Tonks came over for playdate?"

Charlie's normal grin fell off his face as the realization hit and Hermione looked over to Tonks, who looked melancholy. Mrs. Weasley explained softly, "They were playing potions and all of Charlie's became real ones, whatever he was naming them. Didn't matter the ingredients, he made liquid luck out of colored water, grass and glitter."

"I made rainbows for him." Tonks said softly. "Rainbows and rainbows."

Charlie's face was tight. "Guess it really was my stubborn personality that was the problem."

"Oh, Charlie." Mrs. Weasley and Tonks both exhaled, Mrs. Weasley sad and Tonks almost guilty.

Ralph squeezed his shoulder and Bill tried to downplay it. "Everyone messes up with their first girlfriend, remember how often I got dumped?"

There were beats of silence in both rooms.

"We should move on, Bill." Mr. Weasley glanced at the clock, "This will take awhile."

Bill grabbed the folder Ralph held out, "Ok, ok. Let's skip the financials part, because I know you're fine there."

"You can't just skip and choose, Bill." His father scolded him. "Please take this seriously. This process is generations older than you are and since you'll be head of this family-"

"-I've pulled money from his vault before, Dad, it's not skipping it. Now do want to do the Ministry questionnaire first or hear how you have to do the single combats?" Bill cut him off, this was a Mr. Weasley she hadn't seen before. Not the laid back father who lightly scolded, this was a man who was taking things very seriously in regards to his family and his daughter.

Ginny reached out and grabbed Hermione's hand as he indicated the second. Bill was grinning though and Ginny's grip loosened and Charlie perked up. "You've got to duel me, sorry, that one's standard. We're going to do it a bit different, we're all doing enough wizard dueling as it is. Hope you're good at video games, because I've got Mortal Kombat."

The boys all grinned, Hermione rolled her eyes at Bill's obsession with video games and the hidden women looked confused. Ginny's voice concerned, "Is that dangerous?"

Hermione shook her head, "Not at all, it's a game for muggle children." She frowned, how to explain it, "Interactive game, sort of like wizard chess. You direct your character what to do."

"Shhh, we're missing it."

"Bill, you should do the traditional duel. This isn't some joke. This is your sister."

"No, Dad. We need everyone in fighting shape. You know people almost get themselves killed in the traditional duels and I'd hate to do that to him." Ralph bristled at that, but kept his mouth shut. "You'll be racing Percy in a scavenger hunt of the twins' making." Bill rolled his eyes.

"You boys have to stop forcing Percy to do things and taking advantage of the fact he feels bad about leaving. Making him get a tattoo and pierce his ear was enough." Mr. Weasley scolded.

Bill and Charlie shared a look, "Nah."

"He was a prat for years."

Mrs. Weasley sighed and Ginny's face got dark, "They still haven't taken me to get mine. Stupid prats, all going without me."

"You're not getting a tattoo, Ginerva." Ginny just discretely adjusted her sweater and Tonks dropped a wink.

"Is it safe to assume this scavenger hunt will be dangerous?" He looked thoughtful, "I never got to see their shop in person."

"It's safe to say you'll need to stay on your toes, there's an obstacle course at one point." Charlie told him and he raised an eyebrow in response.

Bill went on, "The twins were the hold up here, took forever deciding. Mum talked them out of anything truly insane, she's got no idea one of their early thoughts was a prank war on her." Mrs. Weasley gasped in outrage. "You've got another duel with Fred, but it's dancing karaoke-"

"Oh, Godric. That's going to be humiliating." He put his head in his hands, Charlie cracked up and Ginny giggled.

"He's planning on making flyers, so it definitely will." Bill grinned, "George wanted family friendly so you two get to have a bowling competition. Then we'll all bowl teams after or something."

His head lifted, "Muggle or magical bowling?"

Bill looked thoughtful, "Don't know. Is muggle bowling a lot different?"

"Very, it's a lot safer too." Hermione had never even heard of magical bowling, but rather guessed the inanimate objects weren't quite so inanimate.

"Ron's chosen chess, he's right good at it too. Charlie?" Bill waved his arm to give over the floor.

Charlie's grin was cracking his face. "Dragon games. I'm going to get you back for beating me in flame dodging."

"Charlie, the point here is for you not to win. It's symbolic to show that he's willing to fight for Ginny." Mr. Weasley said with a roll of his eyes.

"Don't care. I'm coming for you, Robinson."

"My sweet Charlie is so competitive, isn't he?" Muriel said happily, "It's good he's going to actually try, Bill truly isn't doing any of this properly, letting all of these silly things happen." Hermione frowned at that, she and Bill had discussed all of this on loop.

"You're on, C. You've never beat me in flame dodging and never will."

"Yeah, well you should see how bad you suck at the capture the claw. It's laughable, really."

"That's because I'm not a midget like you. They made that game up just so you have one to do good in."

"Have you ever even caught the snitch in dragon quidditch?" Charlie threw back. "Wait, I know the answer. No."

"You're going to cry because you're so many points behind me." He grinned.

"Boys." Mr. Weasley cut in and they both looked slightly sheepish and Ginny had a huge grin.

"I can't wait to watch them, it's going to be amazing." Ginny whispered, "They always had to play on the same team at the Burrow otherwise they'd get too competitive and fight. One time Charlie just threw the beater bat at his face and broke his nose."

"No, it's because I didn't want to hear them cursing at each other in trash talk." Mrs. Weasley sighed, "Such bad examples for you younger ones."

"Bloody hell." Ginny said just to get her mother to glare and swat her hand. Tonks was grinning again, back to her normal disposition.

"Alright, onto the boring stuff. I'll be honest, I don't know what all is on the questionnaire, it'll write itself as we go." He paused and picked up the knife, dropping some of blood onto a little spot. "You and Charlie get cutting, verify that I'm asking, you have a character witness and you're not lying. Actually, Dad you might want to step out here."

His father didn't move and Bill shrugged as the other blood was applied and names written in. The first bit was boring, but got interesting around when Mrs. Weasley opened another bottle of wine and he stopped giving demographic information or basic facts about himself. Ginny leaned forward, "The good part."

"What was your longest relationship and why did it end?"

"Three years and change, we broke up when I tried to tell her about magic." Hermione felt for him, how awful that must of have been, to have been together for so long and then have it just go poof.

Charlie elaborated, "Are you sure it's not because she shot you? You were real pissed when I came to get you from the muggle hospital."

"She put a bullet in my leg because I did magic and it scared her." His hand absentmindedly rubbed a spot on his leg and Charlie mouthed the words 'crazy girl' at Bill.

Ginny added her own commentary, "We started writing a lot more around then because he had real rough go of it, felt real betrayed and like he'd just been wasting his time."

"I'm going to kill him for pretending he didn't remember what happened we showed up in Romania because the hospital called." His mother said. "That girl was awful to begin with."

Ginny perked up at the dislike then tried to smother it by flicking her hair. Bill was eyeing the next question, "Weird. Have you ever been in a nontraditional relationship? Not sure what it's getting at."

"Triads or ones with those classified as magical creatures. Anything like that." Mr. Weasley supplied, sipping his firewhiskey.

"Umm, not on purpose. Charlie and I did date the same girl for a couple of months without knowing." Mr. Weasley choked on his drink and Bill slapped his back. He clarified, "We had alternate weekend shifts and Charlie only ever mentioned her by a stupid nickname so neither of us put it together until she messed up and invited us both to a wedding."

"I was furious and it wasn't a stupid nickname, I just couldn't say her real name." Charlie offered.

"Whatever, freckle face. Have you ever cheated while in a relationship?"

"No." Ginny gave a happy smile and there were approving nods all around.

Bill glanced over at his dad, before getting the next question out. "Number of sexual partners?"

Ginny's hand on her wine glass tightened and he looked startled and slightly angry, "Why does the Ministry need to know that? That's private."

"These questions are for us to decide whether to allow you to court, we're putting a young woman in your care and needs to know if you can be trusted with her virtue." Mr. Weasley cut in and Ginny started to shift impatiently as he sat there looking off, thinking.

"Don't forget that one girl in Rome." Charlie tried to be helpful and got a glare in return.

"That was you, you idiot. I may not remember the whole night, but I at least had my pants."

"Actually, that was me." Bill clarified and Hermione frowned.

"No, you had the other girl. I'm talking about the one he picked up." Charlie argued.

"I'm perfectly aware I'd already brought a girl home, but you two passed out almost as soon as you hit my couch and I wasn't going to be a bad host." He looked rather smug and Hermione was shooting daggers at him now, Ginny's fierce impatience at her side.

Ralph's answer barely carried to where they were hidden, studiously avoiding looking at Mr. Weasley. "Five."

Ginny looked furious, Mrs. Weasley and Muriel equally as unhappy. Tonks tried to soften it, "Ginny, that's not bad at all, it's normal for someone who has had a few relationships and didn't marry right out of school. I mean Hermione still married Bill and he's got a trail of destruction all the way to Australia from his wild stage."

Hermione glowered and looked at her hands, feeling ashy humiliation and anger rise in her. She didn't want to see the looks on anyone's faces at Tonks well meant, but stumbling words. Bill had said she could ask him anything about before her, maybe it was time. When she looked back up Bill was frowning and looked uncomfortable, his concern at her sudden feelings echoing down the bond.

"Wait, maybe six. Think something might have happened in Hogsmeade, but they obliviated me so I'm not sure."

Tonks went bright red and suddenly started fussing with her sleeping baby. Hermione was extremely thankful that nobody but herself seemed to notice, everyone else still busy glaring.

"I think you're undercounting." Charlie argued.

"No, you keep forgetting that Jen looked different after her makeover thing." He shifted, looking increasingly embarrassed. "Wait, does it count if I was on a love potion? Because I'm not currently counting those."

Ginny's grip on her wine glass prompted Hermione to take it away, afraid she was going to shatter it, but Molly explained for his Mum. "Romania has a huge problem with love potion usage, especially at fairs." She blushed slightly, "Even I got hit when we visited Charlie."

Mr. Weasley was wiping his glasses, looking rather displeased and Bill didn't seem surprised at the information. "Let's go with no. Hope it was Madam Rosmerta in Hogsmeade, she always had a soft spot for you. Righto, on we go."

"No, Bill. I want to talk about it." Mr. Weasley cut in, "Ginny is my daughter, she's young, she's naive and she's shown she makes a lot of impulsive decisions. Quite frankly, I don't want you being one of them."

Mrs. Weasley was beaming at her husband's words and Hermione watched as Ralph leaned forward, his eyes intense. "Quite frankly, I don't want to be either and I don't have any intention of rushing anything, not even when we're allowed to be unchaperoned. I'm also going to respectfully disagree with how you described her, what you see as impulsive decisions I see as brave ones made under pressure and if you think you have a naive little girl who would blindly let me pressure her, might I remind you she spent the better part of school term leading a resistance movement?" Mr. Weasley did not look thrilled at being spoken to like that and the potential suitor visibly leaned back, some of the protectiveness dropping from his voice into more respectful tones. "I had no idea you could smash your heart up by writing letters and if that's all you're comfortable with during our courtship being because I'm touch older. Then that's all it'll be."

Ginny gave Hermione a huge smile and she returned it, she loved that all of this started over letters because most of Ginny's date requests had come calling simply because she was painfully pretty. Ginny's voice was barely a whisper, "I can't believe he just told off dad like that. He helped me with ideas against the Carrows-"

"If that was an option I'd consider it." Mr. Weasley told him and Bill and Charlie were exchanging a look that said nothing to their watchers, a look solely between brothers.

"Dad-" Charlie started and his friend waved him quiet.

"Mr. Weasley, Ginny isn't being impulsive about this either, you asked her to never be alone with me and that's something we've respected since you made the request. It's bloody inconvenient since she can't drive the kids to school and there isn't always someone home for a hand off."

"He's woken me up unreasonably early to be the buffer. If you're going to drag me out of bed to stand there and watch you get issued nursery school instructions by Miss Ginny you better start bringing me coffee." Charlie sounded rather disgruntled over it.

"Not the time, C."

'Bill, make it a rule in the contract." Charlie didn't sound as if he was entirely joking, but he was eyeing his father trying to see if the tension had been diffused. It hadn't.

"Being with people didn't stop you from getting fresh with her the back of a dragon. Even with her brothers there." Mr. Weasley had the sternest look Hermione had ever seen on the usually easygoing man's face.

"That's different, Dad. He couldn't help it, controlled it from getting out of hand and believe me I know how hard that is. They'll be fine, he promised me he wouldn't lay a finger on her and that's good enough for me." Charlie cut in.

'That's not good enough for me." Mr. Weasley stated.

"But it is good enough for me," Bill said and got a glare from his father.

There was a vehemence of emotion in his voice, "Thanks for the trust, Bill, but Mr. Weasley I want you to be comfortable with this. Do you want me to make an unbreakable vow? Because I will. Magic or not it's always going to be Ginny."

Hermione clutched her own glass at the depth there, at the complete certainty of his statement. Without Ginny, there would only be dragons. Whether he wanted it or not he loved her, loved her in the complete sense she felt for Bill. She looked over at Ginny, at the blazing look she was giving him, at the fire on her face and realized Ginny understood, but wasn't sure how to put it in words, too moved to be blunt. Hermione did it for her, words soft. "It's always been Bill." She swallowed, "Ginny, you always got that. You should have teased me mercilessly, but you didn't. You had…well you had compassion when I couldn't be around him after I realized he'd been humoring my crush." She frowned, "I hated it, by the way. Made it so much more worse."

Ginny gave her a grateful smile, "I never meant to hurt you. Hexed George's face when he tried to joke about you liking him, didn't I?" She glanced at her Mum, softening, "Remember how I used to beg you and Charlie to invite him?"

Mrs. Weasley had a sheen of tears in her eyes, "Yes, and Charlie would demand that I make you leave his friend alone."

In the man's room, Mr. Weasley sat back and took a sip of his firewhiskey, "No, I don't think we need to go that far. Just understand the contract will be nullified if you two try anything before phase three and I'll happily cut your finger off myself. Bill, write in that Ginny has to update you on how much time they spend kissing over getting to know each other or if he's pressuring her."

Ginny had simply settled into glowing at her father's acceptance before glowering at the demand.

"No." Bill stubbornly said, "I don't want a freaking bulletin on what Ginny does when she's courting in the kitchen. I imagine Hermione will be in the know if anything goes awry. Besides, you were rolling in the hay at Gin's age and it's not like Mum is the only girl from the stories you've told me."

"Bill-" Mr. Weasley started and from the look of sheer murder on Mrs. Weasley's face, she had an idea he was going to get about the same talking to Bill was.

"Dad look, I'm just as protective of Ginny as anyone else, but she's not five and has had boyfriends before. You have to let her grow up sometime and the only way I see this being an issue is you making it one. Stick your feet in the mud and you know she'll just rebel."

'Ginny's had boyfriends?" Mr. Weasley sounded startled, "Why didn't she tell me?"

"Because you'd act like this, don't worry they all got talks from the twins or Ron. Heard she went on a first date and realized he didn't know her name, just thought she was pretty and hexed him him so hard he turned her in. She got detention for refusing to apologize. She can take care of herself."

"Oh, it wasn't real detention, they passed it to McGonagall who thought she was justified on that one and gave her extra access to the quidditch set. What's next, Bill?" Ralph had lost his intensity and seemed at ease.

Bill shuffled through his papers and gave a long sigh. "Got any kids?"

"Nope, feels like I do having to keep track of C sometimes." It was a joke and Bill grinned back.

"I don't have to be your witness, I'll throw you under the bus with Ginny." Charlie sounded rather petulant as he took a sip of his firewhiskey.

"Is this still about the coffee? Godric, you are a child. Bill, write it in that I'll bring him coffee and a pastry when he's utilized as a buffer." He took his own sip and refilled everyone's glasses.

"Make sure he can't hex me awake. I don't like it." Charlie added helpfully.

Bill rubbed his temples, "Will you two stop bickering like old ladies? Looks like I've got to test your magical abilities and you've got to give me examples of successful and failed courtships. Hope you studied that, I'm supposed to be attacking you during that part so you can show me you'll put Gin first under pressure."

"Sounds bashing fun, don't aim for my right shoulder. It's messed."

Bill was still shuffling, "Bloody hell, why is this so convoluted?"

"Because at one point Britain was ravaged by a disease that only attacked witches and only a handful had natural immunity, the others either died or became squibs. Witches got scarce and created this process to help determine who would be best to grow the population back up." He rubbed his face, "Then once there were enough witches again, everyone got sick of being bossed around by women and added a bunch of rules in retaliation."

"That explains it." Bill shook his head. "We're skipping a shit ton of these stupid tests." He just started checking things on the pages of parchment.

"Bill-"

"Dad, my call. Technically a lot of this is Ginny's call, well and Hermione's. She won't let Ginny be forced into any of these offensive verifications. They redlined everything together." Bill didn't look up, just started setting aside papers of crossed out text.

"Bill, it's not really Ginny's call."

"Well it should be. She's only doing it this way to show you and Mum she's taking this seriously." Bill muttered something to himself about the hassle that didn't quite carry and Hermione smiled to herself. Bill had been muttering about not getting any sort of honeymoon or a day's break in his life, at points pouting about how it was so unfair that he had six siblings and all of the responsibility.

"What'd you take out?" Tonks asked curiously.

"Giving him the right to interrogate all of my former courtship partners or boyfriends. Or proving to Bill and my suitor I'm having my courses each month since I'm not chastity belted." Ginny wrinkled her nose, "So gross."

"And that's the nice things." Hermione added, sipping her wine and wondering just what Ron and Harry were up to with their limited freedom.

Bill was going on, "Ginny's already living with your family and you've stayed with us, so that criteria is met. Check, check." The quill hovered and he started to cross, "Wait, this is your part." Bill's ears turned pink and he looked uncomfortable, "Do you want the proof of her ability-"

He passed over the paper and Ralph scanned it, Ginny moving to the edge of her seat. "I bet it's the prove you can meet his needs as a good wife in phase three the way Dad's face is going red with anger and Charlie is trying not to giggle."

Her beau was crossing out line and after line, before just putting a giant X on the parchment.

Ginny frowned, "Didn't want to have to clean his flat, but wish he'd left the other stuff in. Great excuse see what he's hiding under those torn dragon hides."

"Ginny!"

"It was a joke, Mum." Ginny tried and Hermione looked away to not laugh. Ginny's voice a bare whisper out of the side of mouth, "Just because it's not mandatory…"

"Ginerva!" Her mother smacked her hand and Ginny did her best to look as innocent as possible.

"Just cross out all of the stuff Ginny is supposed to do for tests, Bill." He said, grabbing another piece of parchment and began crossing out more things.

"Leave in the part about cake." Charlie cut in, "Ginny makes better carrot cake than Mum and I haven't had it in ages."

"C, you don't get to pick the cake she makes. I do."

"Well, pick carrot cake, you know it's my favorite and I'm sitting here vouching for you so you can snog my baby sister. I repeat baby sister, you're catching the word baby, right?" Bill wadded up a piece of crossed out parchment and threw it at him.

"Why not just ask your sister to make it for you over make me force her to?" He grabbed Charlie's firewhiskey and set it on the table. "Stop trying to make this about you."

"Fine. You make me sound like a terrible person." Charlie grabbed his firewhiskey and let him continue to cross things out. "But leave in the cake if you want that dragon back date that I'm the only one who can chaperone."

Ginny looked relieved, "Good, I made lemon cake for the approval dinner. Godric, I should go peek on the roast."

"I'll go peek and grab more wine." Hermione settled her in and took her time examining the carefully prepared dinner Ginny and her mother had made. Later heard sounds of crashing from the parlor that indicated Bill had started to attack him. She yelled through the door, "Don't ruin the furniture, Bill. Go outside."

"I hate this couch, love." He called back and she winced, guessing it was being used as cover at the sounds of cushions exploding.

* * *

"Harry, are you sure we should do this without backup?" Ron hissed at him, "Percy has no idea what we're asking him to do. Can't we just ask-"

"-No. Do you want them to have proof about Kingsley being Order?" Harry clearly didn't like it much either, "And we can't tell Percy why. He'll tell Bill and all of this will be for nothing."

"We should have brought Hermione." Ron hissed back, shifting the cloak. "She's the smallest, her fingers are so little they'd barely feel the hairs plucked. I'm going to accidentally hit their head. She got all of the hairs last time."

"We have to do it when Bill won't notice we're missing, He told us to be scarce today because of Ginny's thing." Harry hissed back, eyeing the Ministry entrance, waiting for Percy's polyjuiced form to come back out and let them sneak in. "He's going to hit us back with tighter anti-apparition charms as soon as it's done. Mark my words."

"You mean when Hermione won't notice." Ron argued, "Don't try and pretend it's just Bill you want to leave behind."

"She says she can't use polyjuice anymore, Ron, not since Bellatrix. It's not like she can walk around as herself for things like this and we can't all fit under the cloak anymore." Harry hissed back.

"That's not why. I heard them rowing about it on the beach. Bill-" Ron cut himself off, there was Percy and they shuffled forward awkwardly, they really were too big to share the cloak, it was uncomfortable to hunch like this.

"How did it go?" Harry hissed and Percy looked around, "I've got the security guard out and got the judge to write a blank vault search order. I don't know what you're planning, but you'll have to time its execution right after the order goes live otherwise he'll get killed. I blamed it on Bill, just like you asked, saying he'd seen something so dark it cursed him not to be able to say the name of the vault's owners."

" _Obliviate."_ Harry said it evenly and took the parchment, then looked slightly guilty. "We'll have to put that judge on the list of people who need hiding, get him at Shell."

Ron waited for his eyes to refocus, "Percy, go back to Muriel's. Your shift is done, you took a hit and need some rest."

"Oh, ok. Muriel's. Where are you?" Percy looked around, rubbing his head.

"Hidden, get going. You've got to make sure the dragons aren't eating the sheep, Muriel wants the wool."

"Right, right. Have a good shift." Percy twisted away.

"Let's go."

"Oh hell, are we sure there are anti-disillusionment charms up in the Auror department?" Ron muttered as they shuffled along ever so slowly throng the near empty Ministry, "Can't we just lure the two on duty not the hallway and then steal their hair?"

"That's loads better than just winging it, Figured they wouldn't notice a tiny pinch." Harry muttered back.

"We didn't think of a way into the department itself. How did we miss that?" Ron hissed, they'd been staring at the door for what seemed like forever.

Harry looked thoughtful for a long time, his words barely a whisper. "Kreacher?"

There was a crack and the little elf appeared, looking around, his voice loud. "Master?"

"Shhhh, Kreacher. Quiet now, we need a distraction that will cause the Aurors to come out so we can grab some of their hairs."

The little house elf blinked his big eyes,"Why didn't you ask Kreacher in the first place? He can go get hairs from their brushes, he can, just like crazy Dobby went to Harry Potter's house."

"Erm, yes, let's do that. Wonderful idea, Kreacher, Mrs. Black would be very proud of your cleverness. We need a partner set: maybe the Scrimes couple?" Harry's face said he felt like a complete idiot.

"Yes, Master Harry. Do you want me to bring them to Shell?" Kreacher asked eagerly.

"Yes, please Kreacher and please tell nobody of what you've been asked."

There was a bob and nod, Kreacher hesitating. "Can Kreacher wait until the filthy mudblood is done trying to take Master's seventh away from him? Lowering her high blood to ugly filth, she is. Or should Kreacher go stop him, when done getting the hairs of proper wizards?"

Harry looked uncomfortable at the initiative and Ron felt his ears go hot at Kreacher's knowledge of what was going on at Shell, his neck hot at the insults. "No need for that and please don't talk about Ginny like that."

Kreacher disappeared with a crack and they began to make their way back out of the emptiness of Saturday hallways at the Ministry, Harry took a look at the statue from the apparition point and just exploded the sycophantic house elf on impulse for Dobby. Ron shook his head, "See that's why we need Hermione. We just broke into the Ministry for no reason. Literally, no reason at all, dragged Percy into it too. What if we'd gotten caught? We didn't even have backup."

"It'll be good for Potterwatch at least?" Harry offered, "Ministry infiltrated a second time? Ron, it's not like you thought of that before."

"It'll be hell when Hermione finds out, that's what it'll be." Ron said darkly. "She's going to kill us."

"We'll just not mention the breaking in, right? Just say we got the hairs because Kreacher volunteered to go get them."

"He overheard us when he brought us lunch in exile." Ron offered up. "We were watching the sheep for Muriel and he brought us lunch."

Harry nodded, then frowned. "We better go make sure there are sheep if we want to use them as our alibi."

"Does this feel a lot like Divination homework?" Ron asked and Harry gave the first real grin he'd given in a long time as he twisted them to Muriel's.

"As long as your Tuesday has a grim outlook, sure."

"Well, you see my chart says a little bushy haired creature will get cross with me when she puts together the pieces with a broken house elf statute." Ron scrunched up his face, "Thing is, I'm terrible at the charts." Ron's voice had laughter in it, "Forgot to do mine this week."

"Funny, I glanced at your tea leaves this morning and it said you were going to get attacked by birds." Harry nudged him, looking around, "Where are the sheep?"

"Bloody hell." Ron said and gave a shrug, "Whatever, the sheep are on Percy and Kreacher still overheard us."

"He totally overheard us." Harry agreed firmly. "Any idea how long we're exiled for?"

Ron shook his head, "I know you like Ginny and all, but you'd have to be mental to go through all of that. Bill was saying something about all of us throwing buckets of ice water at him if Ginny accepts him to the second stage." Ron looked guilty, "He has no idea what's coming, Fred and George broke into his flat and completely messed with his courtship instruction book from Mrs. Tonks."

Harry started to crack up, "Are you serious? Ginny will kill them."

"No she won't, he now has to give her presents for completely made up reasons, like if her eye does that twitchy thing when she's tired it means she's thinking of someone else and she gets sweets. Ginny goes nuts over presents. Mum used to just magically wrap her food to get her to eat things she didn't like." Ron told him as they headed for the house.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this when I was dating her?" Harry asked, thinking moodily that he'd not given her a single present during the time or even for her birthday after and she'd given him that mind blowing kiss for his.

"Figured Hermione had." Ron shrugged. "Think we should tell Bill that Hermione going to eventually kill him for leaving the ink uncapped or doing that thing where he shoves a book between the couch cushions to use the edge as a place for his tea cup?"

"How much do you like your brother?" Harry contemplated, "She's still gaga over him and hasn't seemed to notice the book thing yet."

"But Bill's a dead man once he spills a drop."

"Bill's already spilled a few drops." Fred said an eyebrow wiggle and a wink, "Courtship thing hit a snafu, turns out our suitor didn't take too kindly to Bill implying he'd smash him in a duel. George went to go stand as a second witness while they get Bill fixed up. Charlie's running the show now, which is a terrible idea, he's going to go nuts with power." Fred grinned, "Bill's going to wreck Robinson when he comes to from having bats attack his face inside a bubble." Fred batted his eyes, sentimentally, "Ginny taught him well."

'Why not Percy?" Harry asked and both Ron and Fred shared a look.

"Well-"

"You see-"

"Percy hates him." Ron blurted it and Harry looked astounded, he wasn't sure he'd ever liked Percy so much in his life. "Like how Hermione couldn't stand Pansy Parkinson and if she was peeved would just hex her as we walked by their table in the Great Hall."

"Don't grin, Harry. When Bill went off to school Charlie got a lot closer with Perce and Percy was thrilled. He could tolerate Charlie and Bill being close, because that's how it'd always been, but got real jealous when Charlie went to get his wand and came back with a brand new bestest friend."

"Ginny didn't take me getting you and Hermione well either. Took it real bad that I wasn't writing her all of the time during first year." Ron added. "Anyone up for chess? I've got to practice."

"Sure." Harry agreed and they opted to set up outside, enjoy the day and wait for Kreacher who had begrudgingly settled into serving his newest master.

* * *

When Bill came out looking tired and saw her he gave her a sweet smile, "I'm so glad we got married on our first date."

She hugged him around the waist, "Me too, biscuit."

"This is going to be one hell of a ride, love." He dropped a kiss on her forehead, "They're in there fussing over what lock of her hair he wants to carry, bet they row."

"They won't, Ginny's too excited at the moment." Hermione leaned into him with a smile, "Thank you for standing up for Ginny in there, but understand we're going to row later. We watched."

Bill winced and tried to appeal to her good side, "Well, I've got to be like my wife, don't I? Stand up for those who don't have a voice for themselves-"

She hit him with the spoon, and he sobered. "Seriously, love, you've opened my eyes to a lot of things I've always just accepted as normal and I appreciate that. Just please wait till everyone has gone to yell at me."

She smiled at the compliment and glanced over her shoulder, pushing the rest aside. "Your dad is lurking, go get him."

"He's taking it harder than Mum." Charlie said as Bill went off to drag his father from the just open enough door. Charlie opened the cake plate and made a disappointed face before cutting himself a slice as Bill went to try and wrangle his father. "Only time I've ever seen Dad cry was when Ginny was born, nobody expected a girl."

"Charlie! Stop that! Ginny wanted that perfect." Hermione scolded.

Whatever he said in response was muffled by the cake he was shoving in his mouth.

"You're worse than Ron." She told him in disgust, before softening. "How are you doing? Bill said you didn't like this and the thing about Tonks…."

He shrugged, swallowing before he answered. "Still wish he'd picked someone nice and quiet. There's nothing wrong with meek." Charlie took another huge bite and chewed, his shoulders slumping slightly. "Sucks that not even magical compatibility could save Dora and I, but it worked out. She's happily married and I'll get there too."

"You damn well better, Charlie Weasley." Tonks declared entering the kitchen and pecked his cheek, "Now who's this witch you've been mooning over? She's Order isn't she? You keep looking at the door. Oooh, is it my Holly?"

Charlie shoved the rest of the cake in his mouth, ears going red as he mumbled something completely unintelligible and fled towards Bill, taking the cake plate with him. Tonks shook her head, "He's never going to grow up." She perked up, hair going neon blue and Teddy's following suit, she pecked him, "Have you screamed at Bill yet?"

"No. I don't want to ruin Ginny's day." Hermione told her moodily, she didn't want to think about it.

"Then don't and don't ruin Bill's day either. Yeah he lost his virginity in the back of that flying car to some girl he'd just met, but none of those girls matter. You're the one that matters, you're the one he wants for the rest of his life." She jiggled the baby as Hermione thought it was extremely odd that Tonks knew more about Bill's adventures than she did. They had to talk. Tonks dropped a wink, "Just make sure he gives you a heads up on the crazy ones and don't be like me, or do. When Remus was being a depressed poet over how we couldn't be together Sirius talked him into a trying a one nighter. Depressed and mopey as I was I hexed that bitch through a window and put her in custody for property damage." She looked thoughtful, "I'm still impressed you didn't attack Fleur."

She shifted her feet, she hadn't had a wand. "She's alright at the end of the day." Hermione gave a small satisfied smile, "She threw fireballs at Bill for me when he got all mouthy and stubborn at the dinner table. Almost hit Ron who was too blasted to move."

"Am I allowed to peek on them?" Mrs. Robinson asked Mrs. Weasley, brandishing her camera as they came in, both looking rather teary. "I'm making a scrapbook and Ginny was so excited about the bludgers she got for him."

The couple in question smashed into the hallway, the male slamming the door shut against the sounds of crashing inside, both looking thoroughly snogged. "I don't think you did the charm right, sweetheart."

Ginny smoothed her dress primly, "I wanted them to do that."

"What? Destroy the parlor or try to kill me?" It was said with amusement as he pulled her farther from the door getting battered.

"I changed it after the number five came up." Ginny crossed her arms at his teasing, ire raising, "Maybe, it was six."

He froze for a moment and grabbed the door handle, "Godric, you heard all of that?"

"Yes, and just like you didn't want to like me I don't want to like you right now." She pecked him, "I do anyway, but don't think I'm not going to hex you over it."

"Sweetheart, just let me handle your bungled bludgers. How about that?"

Bill laughed as the suitor dove through the doorway as Ginny drew her wand, and Hermione glared at him, "Don't you want to be a good host?"

"I love you." He gave her a completely sheepish look and opened the door to curse a second later as he got hit and Hermione didn't feel bad in the slightest for him.

While Nymphadora Tonks married quietly to avoid scandal then forced a formal courtship between a muggleborn and pureblood with good intentions, she had no idea just how it was going to force allegiances in the Second War to shift. No idea that three families would get drawn into a riptide of change that would echo in wizarding history.

* * *

A/N: Reviews cherished and bonus points to your favorites surviving if you got the courting in the kitchen reference! Up next we start the hunt, take a peek at the dark side of the moon.


	25. No Freedom

A/N: Love the increase in favorites and follows and as always the reviews, they are read and reread! Today we've got some fluff, some darkness and as always a little humor. Brought to you by Hermione, Charlie (who's getting rather greedy and seems to think he should get his own story), Ginny, Harry and we welcome Narcissa Malfoy into our group of narrators.

* * *

No Freedom

Hermione pulled her wrap closer and stared out at the ocean wondering when he would come home and where, just where he'd been going every night. She pulled out her shell, frustrated that it had been stuck on going back and forth between work and traveling. Bill wasn't at work, Bill couldn't be. Her thoughts drifted again to her mother, how would she handle this? How had her parents handled fights, hidden away in their bedroom away from her prying eyes? It had only been her mother's voice she heard muffled and raised, only her mother's eyes that had ever seemed to be red.

She got up and paced, paced and paced as she watched the stars move and wondered just what Hagrid had meant by giving her a unicorn horn and how it could be written up in those long dead transmissions of light. She heard the sound of Bill's motorcycle break the wards and internally steeled herself, straightening her back and seeing him made her heart ache, his scars looked so much harsher at night. He took the dryer cliff route and she settled herself to wait. Let him find an empty bed and panic. Let him be the one who found themselves alone in their room in the middle of the night with no explanation, no spouse in the house. She waited, a skill she'd gotten unfortunately good at during the hunt, impatience and frustration simmering. Bill was getting rid of that death trap and he was certainly going to stop teaching Harry and Ron how to drive Sirius' old heavily patched up one. Bill's confusion and panic drifted down the bond and a tiny part of her wished she'd messed up the room to make it worse, she cut it off, now was not the time to be petty. She walked further down the beach, she didn't want the house to hear. It didn't take long to hear his heavy footsteps, calling her name desperately as he ran.

He stopped a few feet away at seeing her, hand twitching as if he wanted to hold her and she wondered if it was her face that killed the action or whatever had him pushing her farther and farther away. "Hermione? Why aren't you asleep? Nightmare?"

She met his eyes, voice cold. "Because I can't sleep not knowing where my husband is in the middle of the night."

Bill swallowed and looked out to the ocean, thinking, his panic draining away down their bond into something she couldn't pinpoint. "If I ask you to, will you just let it go?"

"No." She waved her hand, the frustration starting to boil out. "Bill, it's night after night. At first I thought it might just be last minute Order shifts, but I checked the schedule in the war room. Now I want to know what the hell is going on."

Bill didn't say anything, his face closing off and hardening. She wanted to throw something at him. "Bill, I demand some sort of explanation."

He just shook his head and a sudden thought, the insecurity that was so familiar to her when it came to him, reared and she wrapped her arms around herself. Of course, she was just a still silly little fool. Why hadn't she seen it before? Why had she just assumed it was something with the Order? She'd seen the girls he'd dated, seen him flirt as naturally as he breathed, had always just assumed it was part of his easy going nature. Had been flustered by his wink since she was fourteen, Bill whatever he said now was still the man who casually went back to a girl's flat when offered. He'd been pulling away so much these past few days and she'd thought it was stress. She choked the words out, clutching her wand. "Who is she?"

He looked startled and affronted, "There is no other woman, there never will be." His voice raised in volume as he geared up, "How could you even think that?"

"Because you disappear in the middle of the night, you tosser. Because you admitted to dating more than one girl at once." She snapped. "Because just a few days ago you were grabbing me into the shed laughing and today I think you've only kissed me good morning." She shoved a finger into his chest, "Who is it, Bill?"

He ran an angry hand through his hair and pointed at the sky as he backed away from her. "The lady in the sky." Another angry hand at her blank look, "The moon, Hermione."

She stepped back at the sheer anguish in his eyes, the anger abruptly dropping from a boil to a simmer, before flaring again. "Which you also won't talk to me about. I said I married all of you, Bill." He looked away and she softened herself, trying to make herself calm down at what she could feel from him in the bond, the tension and fear on his side of her reaction, "One of your dreams slipped over last night."

He tensed, "Did it scare you?"

"It scares you." There was truth in that, she'd felt Bill fight with that part of him more and more as the moon got wider. This was different from last month, different from when his latched healing was so much more prominent than his desire. He'd wanted her before, wanted her to be his and now he had her, now it was primal.

"Did it scare you?" He demanded again in a voice she couldn't deny, his eyes demanding, his heart hammering down at her.

She couldn't look at him as she answered, stumbling over her words. She'd woken with her heart racing, exhilarated and panicked as hell. "It.. mainly confused me. Bill, some of it… some of it was very close to what Greyback threatened me with. That's what… upset me."

Bill clenched his eyes shut for a moment, "Godric, I'm the reason your night terrors came back." His anger at himself palatable, "Why you've barely eaten and your hands shake."

"No, Bill." She argued, "Don't you even dare think that. Muriel said they would come and go. It's still so hard with Ron sometimes."

"Which is why you're going to Muriel's for my moontimes and Ron is staying with me. I don't want to find you shaking in the pantry because he startled you again." His jaw was tense. "Just because I turn into a giant prick for three days doesn't mean you have to put up with it. I refuse to let myself treat you that way, like you're my bloody property."

"I'm not leaving you during it. I'm not doing that for the rest of our lives. You have to let us figure this out. You have to talk to me, Bill." She moved closer again.

He shook his head, "You can't help, Hermione. Nobody can. Remus can't even fucking help."

"Bill-"

He steamrolled over her, "You want to know why I barely kissed you today? Want to know where I was part of last night? Having a drink with the only other in-betweener in the Isles. Why? Because his wife left him and took the kids, just unable to handle it anymore and he only got mauled a few months ago. Because as much as I was a control freak last moon, it gets worse when you've done a claiming. I'm going to fly off the handle and you're going to leave and-"

"I'm not going to leave." She yelled it at him, trying to get through to his upset and warring core, Bill needed her close during the moon, that much was clear from last time, that much was clear from his dreams. He would drive himself mad otherwise and she had a terrible feeling that by accepting his claiming gift she needed him be close too.

It cut him off and she grabbed his face, making him look at her. "I'm not going to leave you, Bill." His eyes tried to glance away and she tried to hold him, he pulled from her grip and stepped away from her. "I married all of you. I'm never going to leave you. How could you even think that?"

He looked back at the ocean and away from her, completely ignoring the question, ignoring her imploring down the bond. "Don't lie to me, Hermione."

"What?" She asked completely startled by the shift and the bluntness of his tone.

He looked back at her and finally voluntarily touched her, he looked weary in the moonlight as he placed his hands on her shoulders. Bill gave her a tentative peck on the lips and she let him kiss her. It wasn't a happy kiss, it was a desperate one, filled with need and the self-loathing in him was stronger than she'd ever felt before. When he pulled away, she rubbed her scalp from where he'd pulled her hair a little too hard. He looked at her a long time, no tides moving in his ocean shaded eyes as they searched hers."If I asked what you're really planning with them, would you tell me?"

She hesitated, insides churning. Harry really didn't want Bill there and with the moon…but if Bill came, maybe they wouldn't spend months just sitting around thinking again. She started speaking not knowing where she was even going, not knowing who would win, "Bill, I want to-"

He cut her off, ending her distress by squeezing her shoulders, voice flat and heavy as he let go and stepped back. "So this is where we are. I'll give you the choice, Hermione. Do we have secrets or lies between us?"

A rush of sadness hit her, of helplessness, her words almost a wail. "I don't want either."

His lips twitched as if he wanted to give her a half smile, but couldn't manage it. "I don't either, love, but that's where we've gotten ourselves stuck, isn't it?" He looked away and she felt his hatred of the situation echo down the bond as he tried for the silver lining, "It doesn't have to mean we don't trust each other."

She swallowed the tears that were threatening, not entirely sure her words were true, even if they were necessary. "I can handle secrets, just not lies."

He pulled her into his arms, "Every night I'm away is for you or this twice-damned war, love. Trust me."

"I do." Hot frustrated tears slipped over into his shirt, this was terrible and in the moment she hated how the war had pushed them to this point. She felt as if she had the locket around her neck again, sapping any thought of a happy ending from her, aggravating and tearing apart the bonds she held closest. She didn't want to go on the hunt without him, didn't want to wake up and see Harry and Ron frustrated, but she couldn't bring him. She couldn't ask him to risk his life for Harry, couldn't fit him in a machine of three that had been operating for years without him.

He stroked her back and buried her face in her hair, wrapping her in his overwhelming presence as she fought to stop crying over how torn she was. She wanted to hide him away, to take his memory of her and send him off to a distant land for safety and at the same time she wanted him to remember every moment they'd had together. She couldn't have both and it hurt, it drilled into her chest on repeat until she felt faint. Eventually she pulled away slightly to look up at him. "When the war is over, no more secrets."

He kissed her forehead and squeezed her, managing lightness because she needed it. "For the most part." A wink, "I'm still having a chocolate stash, love."

She managed a watery smile. "Just how many stashes do you have, Mr. Weasley?"

He looked thoughtful as he pulled away from her, twining her hand in his and guiding her back towards the house. She envied Bill's ability to simply compartmentalize his feelings for the vast majority of the month, to turn them off, to shove them into little boxes that he let out when he swam his morning laps. "Food or treasure? Here's a secret for you, I'm a bit of a pirate, which we're never telling Gringotts. When I was healing up Dad got me this book on still missing muggle treasure to stop me from going spare over Mum smothering me. Or try to anyway, still flipped out on her a few times, thing is I found a lot of it. We're muggle loaded from what the library tells me it's valued at." Another wink, "We can keep it or discreetly sell it to collectors through a law firm."

"Is that why you kept randomly disappearing over summer? Your Mum went mental when you didn't leave anyone a note and notified the Ministry, St. Mungo's and the Order because she thought you were trying to off yourself."

His ears went pink, "Yeah, I never made that mistake again, always told Charlie or Dad. The Ministry knew where I was though because I took a portkey, so there's that." He shifted and squeezed her hand, "Already sold what I found in Samoa when I redid the will. Robinson took me to a muggle financial advisor to sort out muggle investing for us. Hope you don't mind that Ginny's the secondary holder on your assets and bank accounts, she's got that handy muggle identity. We can change it to Harry if you want though."

She felt her eyes water again, "Bill you don't have to do things like that. I don't want-"

"Yes I do." It brooked no argument and she chose to peck him in thanks over try and break down the the stubborn look on his face. He'd already done it, there was no point arguing any more than they'd done tonight. He gave her a smile, "You'll have to talk to the advisor from now on though, love. She thinks I'm mental because I kept accidentally saying galleons and asking what seemed like reasonable questions to me, but apparently only apply to the wizarding world of finance."

She swallowed her pride, accepted this was done out of love, and gave him a genuine answer. "Thank you. I'll give her a call, but you owe Charlie some of that muggle treasure. Your Mum completely blamed it on him that you somehow got yourself to the Americas when she'd warded the house from sneaking out."

Bill gave a soft reminiscing smile, "Mum always forgets to ward the bathroom, I just went out the old sneak out rope like I was a little rebellious teen again."

She shook her head, "Do any of you obey rules?"

"The ones that matter." He kissed her head, "The ones the wife sets." Then he pulled her into his arms looking mischievous, "Except for all of my secret stashes."

"No chocolate stash, I want to be able to eat it too." She tried to avoid his kisses half heartedly, not completely settled or happy with where they were, but able to accept it. She wanted to cherish these last few days before she would have an empty cold bunk bed in a tent. No Bill, no heater like warmth curled against her, no drifting half awake when he mumbled in his sleep, no groaning when Bill's annoying early morning perkiness caused him to crash about the room before the sun came up. No more Bill, no more of her favorite thing in the world.

He pulled back, giving her his best earnest look. "This stash is so I have chocolate to give you when you've eaten all of the chocolate you have access to. Don't think I haven't noticed your fondness, just as bad as Ginny."

"It's medicinal and I was healing." She told him primly, "Somebody had to rein her and Ron in at Honeydukes."

"Who was that? Harry? Because it sure wasn't you, I've seen you with sugar quills. You're not even writing anything, just eating them. You had three today. One in the bath, love." He tickled her sides. "Should I be jealous?"

"I only had sugar free candy as a kid, let me live a little." She blushed lightly, she did have a terrible fondness for the quills and tried to pull out of his arms to no success. His fingers running madly up and down her ribs causing little giggling shrieks. "Bill, stop!"

He did and her giggles calmed. "I'll buy you as many sweets as you want, love. Then I'll buy more and hide them from you and Ron. Harry I trust, but you two, not a bit."

She gave him a soft smile, trying to bury the fact they were talking about nonsense over talking about what they couldn't. "I thought it was really nice that you used to send Ron extra pocket money."

"Muriel used to slip Charlie double what I got from her. Don't tell Mum and Dad that Charlie and I were doing that for the younger ones, we didn't want them to have to go through what we did. Didn't always work. Tried to send Mum my dress robes for Ron to borrow for the Yule Ball, but something happened to the water bird and it never made it, so Mum scrambled and he ended up looking like an idiot." He squeezed her hand, "Back to bed?"

She shook her head, not wanting to let go of this moment, one where they were okay again. "No, Bill and Hermione time."

He gave her his incredibly sweet, just for her, light up the night smile and her heart ached. She was going to miss seeing it so much and he squeezed her hand before pointing at the porch swing and slipping into the house. When he came back out with wine and a plate of snacks she smiled. His voice was tender, "You barely ate today, love. You've got to eat more, even if I've upset you."

While you can, it went unsaid. Bill had put a rather large amount of time into drying and smoking rations, making nutrient potions and building out a much larger healing kit for the hunt he would be left behind on. She obligingly picked up a piece of cheese and put it on a cracker as they settled in, "Bill, when did you know? You said you'd already fallen when we were latched."

He softly clinked their wine glasses, slipping his arm around her, thinking. "Charlie knew way before I did, I imagine he'll tell the all of 'Are you kidding me, Bill?' moments next time anyone gives him a microphone. You know how he loves attention."

"Tell me!" She squeezed his hand.

"No, I come off as a complete creeper." He blushed slightly, "Not that I don't in the 'I have it bad' moment. It's not pretty, you and Ron had your heads together over something while I was walking in the orchard with Charlie and it looked very much like he was going to kiss you. I had a panicky thought that if he did I was never going to have a chance and had thrown the apple at him before I could stop myself." He looked utterly sheepish and she recalled the moment: the soft flutters of anticipation she'd had with Ron leaning closer, the sudden smash of an apple against the side of Ron's head.

"You hit him right in the ear and when we looked over you just pointed at Charlie." She recalled, feeling the distant embarrassment and fluster of being interrupted like that, of Ron muttering curses as he rubbed his head and hollered at them. "He just went with it, calling to see if we wanted to play quidditch."

"Yeah, Charlie's always got my back, no matter what I drag him into. He's the one who pointed it out. Told me I should just make a move, then I sort of did and you didn't pick up that we were on a date."

"Bill, if you mean 'I've got to get the bloody hell out of here, want to grab ice cream?' then I can tell you I had no clue because you were completely agitated and kept rapidly switching topics." She shook her head, she'd been a little alarmed at his behavior, at the constant glances to storefront windows and tapping foot. "You even ate my ice cream."

"I was nervous, ok?" His ears were a slight pink at the tips, "You looked like this painting of a wood nymph with the light behind you and I kept getting distracted by how nice you smelled. I didn't know how to handle the increased senses yet, so I just kept getting blasted with trying to figure out what emotion I was smelling and just rambled to cover it up. And I had to eat your ice cream, you were doing that maddening lip thing that drives me nuts."

"So you punished me by taking away my ice cream." She shook her head, she'd already been used to Bill's sudden lack of understanding about her personal space and had chalked it up to the changes in his blood, to what she'd read about wolves and how close they were. He'd been easy going before about casually throwing an arm around his sister or mother when sitting on the couch, to pummeling his brothers, to how he didn't care who saw him and Fleur steal kisses. After the change it seemed he wanted to sit at her feet and get his hair played with, felt fine coming in and waking her up over hollering, brushing things off her face and occasionally dragging her off like a sack of flour.

"It was that or lunging across the table at you and smashing my lips on yours, but I was trying to behave myself. It's not like you were miss chatty, all nibble on your lips and look at the table." He pecked her and made another cracker and cheese.

"I was still very embarrassed that you'd known about how I felt the entire time, completely mortified. When we first latched I was so quiet because I hated that it was you, that you had to be the one to see me like that, to handle my clinginess and freakouts." It was a confession, even as embarrassed as she was she'd still been caught in his orbit.

He pulled her close, "I like you clingy and you handled my freakouts too." He kissed her head, "I am sorry that I saw it as a harmless little crush and winked anytime I caught you staring, love." She felt a slight redness rise and he winked, "Which was all of the time, surprised you didn't walk into walls." He squeezed her, fingers tickling slightly, "Oh wait, you fell down the stairs, didn't you? Fainted in my arms and everything."

She flushed completely and he let out a laugh. She pulled it together, "I didn't faint. I died of embarrassment."

His laughter shook her and she helplessly laughed too, she'd been fifteen and run into a sleepy only in his briefs Bill, panicked and slipped down the stairs. He'd thought he'd accidentally knocked her down and in his attempts to see if she was alright she'd panicked worse trying to get away from him and gone down another flight at Grimmauld.

He made her another cracker, pecking at her flushed cheeks. "Don't fret, love. Tonks was staying at headquarters at the time so Mum just assumed she knocked you down the stairs by accident." He lit up. "Did you see what that book Dad lent me said about us being able to share wands and what our marriage classification meant?"

She rolled her eyes immediately, "There's no such thing as soulmates, Bill. Which one of us is the romantic little girl now?"

Bill didn't bristle, "Well love, how exactly would you describe this?"

She didn't know what to say. How to describe the bond they shared, the completeness of bleeding into another person, the sureness that would forever be able to undercut both of their insecurities, the link that even meant on the days the sun went out he would find a way to bring her light. Bill kicked the swing, enjoying her discomfiture, "Just a happy accident? An outcome of magical maladies? A war time dalliance?"

She found her words, "I'd describe it as perfect."

"You just love to win arguments, quickly don't you?" He told her as he pulled her closer, motioning for Crookshanks and their new addition to hop up with them. She curled into him, throwing all of her hope into the fact that there would be many nights like this, nights of the easy chatter that would go on until dawn and they realized they should get some sleep. Nights when his fingers would play idly in her hair as he sipped his wine, nights as his hands would gesture as he made his points on a magical theory and listened intently at her thoughts, nights where he would spoil her with the good chocolate from the secret stash.

* * *

She took the handkerchief gratefully, clutching it in her fingers, willing herself not to cry, not to cry in front of him. "Thank you, Severus."

"Narcissa, I'm assuming this isn't a pleasant cup of tea." His drawl was drawn out and she loved how it rolled over her skin. Not the time, Cissy, she scolded herself.

"If Lucius won't act for our family's sake, then I will." It was fiercely said, "I don't want this for Draco."

"I cannot intervene for him again, you know this." He folded his hands.

"Can't you at least talk to the Dark Lord? Try to persuade him to pick someone else?" She begged him, "He's too young."

"He will not budge, your family is on a very thin line with Him. Bella-"

"Don't even talk to me about her." She cut him off, "Insane bitch dragged me into all of this."

He raised an eyebrow at the words that had slipped out and she pushed her mouth back into it's prim line with a glance over her shoulder, there would be hell to pay if Bella heard. This was not school, this was not the friend she'd been used to confiding in, she was not the girl who once had a wild mouth and happy disposition. No, she had done what her family asked, had left the child behind and become the polished woman, had been a proper Black daughter. She should have been the improper one.

It clicked, "Severus, from your time as a spy did Andy ever mention us?"

He nodded, eyeing her. "She wished she'd kept contact, blamed herself, I think, on where both of your lives went."

She'd been thirteen when it came out that Andy's easy going suitor was muggleborn, nobody had bothered to even ask her, not assuming she'd ever dare. She'd watched the giant fight from the balcony, watched her father rip up the papers, watched her mother slap her sister as Bella gasped next to her. Watched as Andy's defiance hit an all time high and she slapped her back. Watched as Andy said she was marrying him anyway, that having her own family would be better than being stuck in this one. Andy had looked up at them, anger draining into sadness and implored them to come with her, to come live in her home.

"Any particular reason you're asking about her?" Severus's sharp eyes were piercing into her.

"I believe her daughter just had a child and she crossed my mind." She lied smoothly, "I wonder if the baby is like Nymphadora."

He seemed to relax and her plan formed as they chatted lightly, when he rose to go she stopped him.

"Severus, our owls are out of sorts. Would you mind posting a letter for me?" Out of sorts from all of her mail being watched.

He nodded, eyeing her carefully. "Of course, Narcissa. I'm happy to be of service."

She wrote it quickly and to the point as he drank more tea, knowing he watched as she sealed the letter in blood under the Malfoy seal. Only blood that matched what ran in her veins could open it and she prayed he wouldn't ask Bella to inspect it. His eyes seemed thoughtful as he took it, glancing at the name, a softness there she hadn't seen in years. "I'll make sure she gets your congratulations note."

"Yes, yes, social politeness even extends to those we've pruned from the tree." She agreed, knowing he knew and feeling thankful he'd given an excuse. She'd always been able to trust Severus even back when she'd watched him and he watched that Evans girl.

"Cissa-" Whatever he was going to say, he swallowed it. "Do write Draco and tell him he needs to practice his transfiguration more, McGonagall said he's still struggling with getting objects to right shade of color."

"Of course, Severus. When our owls are resettled." He took his leave and she sat down to wait to see if a conversation twenty odd years in the making would be welcome, Severus' words lingering around her in a cloud of dark hope.

* * *

"Bill, this is completely insane, you're going to get yourself killed with this plan of yours." Charlie exclaimed, "You have to let me go with you."

"No, because you're needed here. You're the main Secret-Keeper of Shell now and Ginny will kill us if we let Percy take over her courtship stuff. He'd be all over every rule and you accidentally left in some of the completely pointless ones while I was getting healed up."

Charlie rolled his eyes, "Not an accident, Eldest, some of them were too good pass up and Dad got real insistent on a few. He just let you lie there all bloody to argue really passionately about the banning of snap buttons. Turns out that's why we have Ron, Mum can't control herself around them."

Bill grinned, "I'm still convinced Percy was conceived at the Ministry gala. Counted backwards and everything."

Charlie shook his head and settled as Bill pulled out a folder, "Seriously, Bill. We can come up with something better than this if you'll be straight with me on what you're planning."

"Can't, sorry." Bill shifted and Charlie felt hurt, it was probably the first time Bill had ever not told him something when directly asked. He was actually fairly certain he should sign something for Gringotts telling them he wasn't going to reveal their secrets with as much Bill had said about things. "Charlie, don't look like that. I'm not being straight with you, with my wife and certainly not with the goblin I'm bribing. Hell, I just flat out lied to Mum not ten minutes ago. You know I hate directly lying to her face."

"She knows you're up to something,"

"Mum always knows." Bill said looking at the parchment before glancing back up with a groan as Charlie tried not to fidget, "What did you say?"

"Sorry, sorry. She's been badgering me about it for days. Told her you and Hermione were rowing." He eked out the last part, "About your bedroom times."

Bill shoved his face in his hands for a second, his voice muffled, "Godric, Charlie, don't you have any tact when you start you to grasp at straws? What did she say?"

"That she would sort it with Hermione before Beltane, Mum wants to be the one to do the fertility rights for you two." He tried to back pedal at the completely pissed look on Bill's face, "You had that one row about it, about how she looks at herself."

"We didn't row, you git. I want her to realize she's beautiful, but she's got years of being teased about her looks all built up inside her and she's self conscious about her scars. If I ever meet any Slytherin from her year it's going to be war." Bill looked utterly frustrated.

"Mum's going to give her tips." He offered his brother with a small shudder. "Said something about a book for brides in the bedroom. Didn't really say what you were rowing about."

"Bloody hell, I hope we're on the run before Mum works up her courage." Bill shook his head and shuffled through his papers and Charlie thought his Mum certainly wasn't lacking in courage, "Here's Ginny's chart thing, just tick off when they hit whatever milestone and make it to stage three. Don't spill on it, took bloody forever to figure it out. You'll have to figure out the Beltane stuff, couldn't make heads or tails because there's so many conflicting laws."

The last thing Charlie wanted to do was sit around and try and figure out what it should be, just let them wing it, but he took the piles of parchment and book anyway. It could look like he at least tried. "Ginny wants you for tomorrow night. She says I talk too much." Charlie said, peering down at the chart. "I told her I'm not going to sit there like a mute donkey every time they want to go see a movie."

Bill rolled his eyes, "You're supposed to be quiet at the movies. I'm busy, send Dad or Mum and she'll like you again. Now here's a copy of my will and all of the relevant paperwork, you're executor and you have to take care of Hermione if anything happens."

"I thought she was leaning towards Fred?" Charlie didn't mind particularly much, Hermione was fine and he'd have to handle the rest of it anyway.

Bill shuffled more papers, "Fred offered, said he'd take it seriously, but I'd prefer you."

He eyed his brother, staring intently at the paper. "Wait, are you just jealous because he had a crush on her and you think she might actually marry him if you get yourself killed? Is this her choice or yours?"

"No." Bill's ears turned a guilty red at the tips. "Fred's bad with money and I'm afraid he'll blow himself up in the workroom."

"No he's not, he runs one of the most successful businesses in Diagon Alley. I'm more likely to die in my job than Fred is." Charlie told him seriously, if she wanted Fred she was going to get Fred. Bill had no reason to be insecure about what would happen if he was dead, it wasn't like he'd be able to be jealous then anyway.

"George does the books." Bill replied and tried to hand him the paperwork again, he refused to take it.

"Bill, make it Fred if that's who she chose." Charlie implored.

"She hasn't officially chosen." Bill shuffled more papers, "She doesn't want to hold you back from dragons, she respects Percy and she's only leaning towards Fred because she says while he can talk his way into trouble he can talk his way out of anything and that's the sort of negotiator she wants. Said she saw him talk them out of getting expelled repeatedly. Went on this whole rip on how at breakfast one morning George said he really didn't want to go to potions and Fred filibustered the Great Hall with some passionate speech to where morning classes got cancelled and he got fifty points and a baton from Dumbledore."

"Where did we go wrong with them?" Charlie shook his head, "Look, I don't mind the responsibility, I'm screwed with the rest of it as your spare, but if she'd prefer Fred be her negotiator I see why. Eldest, think of it this way. I'm too moral to blackmail someone, Fred isn't, so she's covered on all of your shady dealings as well." Charlie avoided the papers again, he had a sneaky suspicion Bill had a binding spell on them if he touched them.

"Fine, I hate it when you decide to be the logical one." Bill sighed, "I don't have shady dealings."

"That's right, I do. Who's poster says they're wanted for gambling? Mine, because I took the fall for your little gambling empire because you'd get fired and I wouldn't." Charlie shook his head, "Not that I wasn't involved, but I sure wasn't the mastermind behind it. I'm just not that good arithmancy. We should start it back up, don't you think? Fund the war effort? We need to get funds to the harbor families in Switzerland."

"There was nothing illegal about it until the twins got themselves involved and started betting banned objects. Go nuts, just don't get caught again." Bill paused, "And don't gamble away my money. It's for taking care of Hermione."

"Bill, stop shuffling for a moment. Look, I don't like being serious, but let's really think about this. Percy should be the Secret-Keeper of Shell, I have to stay with the dragons so anyone who goes to Shell would have to come through Muriel's." Bill shuffled and avoided his gaze and a nasty thought popped up, "Do you not trust him?"

Bill shook his head, "Kingsley doesn't trust him, he's not allowed to be the Secret-Keeper of anywhere."

Charlie felt very affronted, "But-"

Bill didn't look happy either, "Percy was gone for hours a few days ago and said he was on shift, but he wasn't. So many people at the Ministry are under the Imperious curse that Kingsley is afraid he got hit. He's not even being told about Order meetings."

"How do you know these things and I don't?" Charlie was even more affronted than that, "I freaking live at Headquarters."

"Yeah, in a tent off with dragons. Been in England longer and I do a daily check in with Remus or Kingsley over my charges. Sometimes they need to vent. If you've got to stay here, we can change Secret-Keeper to George on the condition they don't store any product in the house. I don't care if they use the cave, but I don't want my house blown up by accident."

"We can't use George," Charlie rubbed his face. "Fred did the runes there, they can't be co Secret-Keepers. Mum's too afraid they'll go out like her brothers and she's not wrong to be. If they go together it would blow Shell's Fidelus, I'll Keep it." He rubbed his face, "She was crying over it yesterday when I found her losing to a boggart. No idea how long she was at it, but I had to give her a calming draught and she did the clingy cry."

Bill shook his head in commiseration. "Poor Mum. She's going to flip when we all leave again."

Charlie shifted as Bill started filing the paperwork, "Bill we're not done yet. You didn't bite me."

Bill paled, "Charlie, I'm not biting you. That was just firewhiskey talking."

Charlie settled in to get serious, "No it wasn't and you know it. You're afraid you'll hurt Hermione and she's afraid of what you want. It's the only clear way to get some of it out of your system. Just bleed it into mine, I thought about it and I'm fine-"

"Charlie, no. I'm not going to put Hermione above you and mess up your life." Bill was clenching the papers so hard they wrinkled.

"I'm offering, Bill. We've been doing blood oaths since we found out about them. I even wrote the leading werewolf expert who said it'll be even more diluted for me, barely there at all. Since you can't transform it can't replicate and refresh itself, so biting me will give me a chunk of it. He said I'll probably just want to hang out with you every moon, which we do anyway. You're struggling with the viral load now that you have her, Bill. Just let me help."

"No." Bill started and rose to walk away, Charlie grabbed him and found his brother trying to shake him off. "Charlie, I'm not doing that to you. You haven't even really had time to think about it."

"Had a few days, that's enough for me." He let go of Bill and turned to pull his knife out, "I've always been into magical creatures and since a dragon would just eat me why not get a whisper of a wolf? We can do it like a regular blood oath too, or both."

"You're insane, loyal, but insane." There was a tightness in Bill's voice and Charlie turned around, feeling tight himself. There were five other siblings, but when it came to the sibling lottery Charlie certainly felt he'd won in placement. Bill had always been there, from the very first memory, from crying secretly when Bill went off to Hogwarts and his bunk was empty, to the years there and the adventures beyond. They were older brothers to the rest, they'd always had to be ones for advice and strength, but between the two of them there was genuine friendship. Charlie loved his other siblings, but could never take his secrets or real fears to them, that was a bond existed between the two eldest alone. He and Bill carried each other and in doing so could manage to carry the rest through their questions and doubts.

He didn't know how to say any of that, how to convey why this was just a no brainer. "It's just one more thing we'll share, Bill. Just like everything else."

Bill was still tight, "This better not be because of that one time they almost killed me saving you. I don't want a life debt."

He shook his head remembering coming to and seeing Bill pale and unconscious next to him and having it gently explained they'd used Bill's blood to keep him alive while they healed him up from a rather unfortunate encounter with a very ticked dragon. It had been lucky Bill had even been visiting. He tried for a lighter tone, albeit a genuine one, "Like I said, we've always done blood oaths. Is there somewhere specific you want to nibble? Or should I pick where I'm going to get my new scar to impress the ladies with?"

"Charlie, I'm still not doing it. I love my wife, but I love you too and I'm not going to put that on you." Bill clapped his back and squeezed his shoulder. "You are by far the best brother."

Charlie shook his head and motioned at his backup plan, merwater. "Never. C'mon, at least have one last drink with me before you go running off to protect ickle Ronniekins. He better not become your favorite or I'll be pissed."

"Impossible, you were my only baby." Bill's response was joking, he hadn't called him that in anything but Charlie's earliest memories, back when he thought Charlie showed up just to be his. Back when there were only two in a snug little nursery.

"We really did sort of hate Percy when he showed up, didn't we?" Charlie asked as he poured the merwater that to Bill was devil's juice. Charlie's personal favorite way to cause Bill to have various downfalls over the years because Bill simply couldn't handle it, just got fantastically drunk. He was so easy to talk into things on it and never remembered after.

"Totally. Mum still thinks we avoided him because he had colic and cried all of the time." Bill took a sip, "Think he's a good choice for Hermione's keeper? She has a lot of respect for Perce."

"Sure. Percy doesn't mind paperwork and whatnot. If you're going to be weird about Fred, he's pretty much the anti-Fred. I still think you should just let it be Fred." Charlie took his own sip and watched Bill sip and muse. "I told the twins to back off on taking the piss out of him."

"I'm not weird about Fred, ok?" Bill shifted and grinned, "This is fantastic, wish you'd introduced me sooner."

Charlie tried not to smile, this would be lucky number three of Bill's misadventures. "Not at all, just like you're not a dick to Harry from time to time."

"That's justified." Bill started before shaking his head, "Okay, not really. I get a little jealous of how important he is to her. She's ready to run off and get herself killed for him, trying to leave me out because he doesn't want me there. I don't want to be her footnote, Charlie, not when she's my everything."

'You're not." Charlie reassured him, "She's getting torn up loyalty wise, but believe me when I say your wife is obsessed with you. Obsessed. She cornered me over what to do for your birthday….which is months and months away."

Bill's face relaxed, "She loves to plan. You might be right, she did these kebabs with my spices from Egypt last night and told Harry off when he complained about how they weren't cooked enough. Told him he could go cook his more, but she'd done them my way."

"Any good?" Charlie reached over and refilled Bill's glass, this was going to be easy as pie.

"Tasted great." Bill shifted slightly, "Though to be honest, might send her to Mum for magical cooking bootcamp. She can't do any of the chopping or peeling by magic without endangering everyone's lives and I think I'm going to end up with a muggle stove." Bill shook his head in frustration, taking a long sip. "Thing is she's being so stubborn about wanting to cook, thinks it's wifely or something. I actually like cooking and she just ends up frustrated and huffy, but still won't let me do all of it. She's almost as bad as you are."

Charlie cracked up, Ron had said she looked as if she was at the end of a double NEWT potions when trying to fry cabbage. "I managed, found a job that had a canteen so I don't have to mess with it." Charlie grinned, "Sorry she's not perfect."

Bill's stupid lovesick grin told him he disagreed as he sipped his downfall. "She's got a wand spell down so she can order takeout by phone, works for me. Did Gin tell you she's completely banned from driving?"

Charlie rolled his eyes, "Heard it from the other side. You know what I don't get about it? Ginny drove through a parking garage arm and he thought it was cute. He would have been down my throat if I'd done that." He sighed, "She's not completely banned, she just isn't allowed to drive with his pop anymore. He said there wasn't enough whiskey in Ireland to make him get back in a car with her. Ralph said he'd teach her himself."

"Well that's one way to end a courtship." Bill shook his head and Charlie laughed trying to imagine just how teaching Ginny to drive would go. Bill held out his cup and Charlie fought not to smile, Bill was so predictable sometimes. Bill was grinning, "Oh, I've got a thank you note in here somewhere. Hermione thinks you are the most wonderful and thoughtful person on the planet for thinking of Crookshanks being lonely. I think I somehow managed to lose husband points by not thinking of it first."

"Just don't tell her I stole Crookshanks to go find his furry companion, he still creeps me out and he knows it." He took a sip, "Still, she should really write the thank you note to Minerva, she did most of the work. Scheduled everything, handled the breeders. Picked out the new kitty."

Bill set his cup down, "Seriously, can we please actually talk about that?"

"Nothing to talk about." Charlie choked on his drink, before sputtering. "Did I tell you one of Hermione's friends wrote me a letter? All just because I winked at the cute little thing at Hogwarts."

"Freckle face, don't." Bill shook his head and took a long swig.

"Too late, already wrote her back. Silly Billy, you don't have any room to talk." He was rewarded with a groan at the old nickname their mother reverted to when fussing over him like he was three. Bill's eyes were going to his neon glaze and he grinned, "Drink up, Eldest. Last chance we'll get to hang in awhile since you'll be off after your ball and chain."

"Not a ball and chain," Bill was starting to slur now and Charlie wanted to personally thank the merperson who invented this light, refreshing and dangerous drink. "My Shakespearean queen. Can't believe she still wanted me after this." He made a rather vague hand gesture at his face.

"Can't believe she wanted you in the first place." Charlie poured him more, "All of Fred and George's little friends like me better."

"No they don't and if they do it's because of quidditch. Hermione doesn't get it at all, asked if I really needed to pack quidditch books." Bill shook his head, then sheepishly admitted, "I told her they were just for Ron."

"Yet, she dated Krum." Charlie shook his head, "How awkward did that go? Saw you two talking."

"Pretty sure he's off buying dark magic talismans with my name on them." Bill gave a slurred giggle, "I hexed him when I caught him looking at her. Don't tell."

"Shit. I hexed him too." Charlie grinned as Bill started to really laugh, his shoulders shaking, "It was just so blatant, I have no idea how she doesn't notice."

"She's busy looking at me." Bill joked and Charlie thought there was a lot more truth in that statement than his brother realized. "Can't get enough of me. Godric, did I tell you Ron walked in on us?"

"Ron told me you two didn't realize he was in the room when you began 'doing laundry', he'd been in there sorting clothes with your wireless headphones. Asked me some interesting questions that tell me Ron is not the ladies man that he's said he is. We've got to take him out again."

"Bloody hell. I had my head up her skirt when he sort let out a startled cry." Bill looked completely sheepish before it twisted into smugness, "I make her break silencing charms. Best thing ever."

"That explains the questions." Charlie gave him a grin back, "How are you planning on handling that when sharing a tent?"

"There's no way in hell we're sharing with them." Bill settled, "Percy got us a real nice one as a wedding gift and did all sorts of stuff to it." He shifted again and frowned, patting his cheek to test if he could feel it.

"What is it, Bill?"

"She wanted Ron to handle things if I'm gone, she won't say it, but she did, but he didn't want to. I hate it so much, Charlie, hate the idea that someday she might not be mine. Hate it that I could handle Fleur's slip ups, but got itchy when Hermione took off her claiming necklace to try and untangle it from her hair. A few days different-" He shoved his face in his hands again. "I'm not the man I should be for her."

"Let me help." Charlie leaned forward, he did not need sad drunk Bill, he pulled his face up and pulled up his sleeve, showing all of the other times they had taken blood oaths. "It's no different from when I got thestral cough and you decided I didn't need to be the only one who sounded like death itself."

"Couldn't sleep without your snores after Mum quarantined you." Bill tried weakly.

"Bill, we're doing this, even if I have to knock you out and do a blood switching spell. You need to be more like your old self and I really don't care if I get a touch more wild. More fun that way."

"Charlie." Bill started and stopped, seeing him pick up the knife. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

It would take another hour of Bill playing chicken, but as the afternoon dragged on Bill began to waver. When he started using modified tactics of how to piss of a dragon the early moon peeked out from the sky with her song and Bill broke. While every sibling would eventually have the same brotherly love rune tattoo, the two that had gotten it first to show the unshakable ties between them would each carry a small crescent moon above theirs.

* * *

"Ginny, you've got another present." Mrs. Robinson called cheerily. "He must have left it for you to find. What's this one for?"

"No idea." Ginny replied, excitement bouncing in her stomach as she took the offered gift. She didn't shred it immediately, this one was meticulously wrapped, unlike his usual crinkled corners and too much tape. Excitement bubbled higher, he must have let the store wrap it like he had for her hairpin. "I think I'll open it in my room so I can call him."

"He'd like that." Mrs. Robinson turned away to go back to whatever she was doing and Ginny was thankful. Ginny went up, clutching her present, it wasn't that she didn't like Mrs. Robinson, there was just something innately private about opening these sorts of presents. They weren't moments for the world to see, they were moments just for them. She settled herself on her bed, insides thumping with excitement and dialed his number, it rang and rang with no answer on the other side. Too impatient to wait until he was on lunch she shredded the paper off of the gift and froze.

Blood rushed her ears and her heart started to pound erratically as she stared at the small black diary in her hands. She threw it across the room, her body shook as she wrapped her arms around her legs and tried not to black out from the panicked anxiety rushing her.

How long she stayed like that she wasn't sure, how long until compelled and horrified she came to the conclusion she had to know and got slowly up to fetch it. She warred within herself while holding it in her hands, she should just immediately give it to the Order, but what if it was just a present? He'd never seen the diary, hadn't she said she needed a planner? She'd look completely ridiculous, she didn't have to be scared of a little book. She'd just do a little check, a single drop of ink and see if it disappeared. Her hand was shaky as she dipped the quill into the ink pot and let a huge drop fall onto the pristine first page. The ink held and she started to breathe a sigh of relief then it sunk into the paper, the oh so familiar, the unforgettable handwriting coming back up.

 _It's been a long time, my sweet Ginerva._

The quill in her hand snapped, anger and fear rushing her veins before her insides became ashes as the cold, terrible understanding of the inevitability hit. She could wail and rant, she could drag the Order into destroying this new diary. It wouldn't matter, another one would come. The part of her that had naively traded her soul for ink stretched, the blackness in her blood wanting to bleed through her veins.

 _I courted you first, Ginevra. Remember how you loved me?_

She threw the book across the room again as more words appeared, unable to stand it. What had once led her, the voice that had been the only friend was now poison and wine, the friend that had listened and guided her, the friend that had taken all she had. Tom, the name she'd flinched at for years, Tom who had once been so sweet, so caring and helpful. Tom who had trickled from shared words into face to face interactions, had bled his way into her dreams, had dipped into her mind until it was his plaything. She buried her face in her hands, tried to bury herself in ashes as the phone rang and rang. She shook and shook, too furious to cry and too afraid to move. There would be no more sleep again. There would be nothing but the frozen numbness of floating along in the small pieces of her life she had left. Thoughts raced without reason through her head, did she write back? Was that easier on everyone if she just was the target? How bad would his threats get? Did she fight and fight and see someone killed because of her defiance? No answers bubbled up for her, no easy black letters pouring across the page to soothe her wretched conundrum.

She could feel the memory of it thrumming in her, the ink spots appearing at the edge of her vision, the little drips that given enough time would turn into an spilled ink pot that blotted out her hours and stained her soul. She looked away from the thing, from the words she could already hear echoing like a hiss at at the back of her mind, a whisper through a chamber she thought had closed.

She twisted into his flat and dug around until she could the supplies she needed. It was simply too dangerous and her heart filled with tears as she hovered and hesitated over the words. Hating the fact it all came back to slashes of words on pages.

 _I can't. I'm sorry._

She folded it, unable to say anymore, even knowing he deserved a hell of a lot better. Unable to wrench her heart open as easily as she'd done in letters or a diary, this was going to get him killed if she let it go on. Her hair tore as she ripped out the hairpin, the gift now tarnished with strands of auburn to sun streaked strawberry. She didn't pull them away as she clipped the paper into it, there was poetry in the red against the parchment, a whisper of the heart that left the message, an echo of the blood she didn't want on her hands. It was an irony of what couldn't be, of a world with color, not the black and white of ink and parchment that so defined the choices in her life. She wanted Ralph's tossed aside shirt, wanted to smell him as she laid there and defied sleep, refused dreams she feared would no longer be her own. She didn't take it, too afraid of the consequences. There was only one clear thought left.

It wasn't over. It was never going to be over.

* * *

When Charlie woke up his mouth was dry and his head was pounding as he staggered into the house to try and find a hangover potion. His mother looked stressed and he flinched slightly as he rummaged in the cabinet, "Where the hell is Bill?"

"Passed out in the field. So irresponsible of you two, drinking like that in the middle of the day."

He downed the potion, "A dragon will eat him. Someone go put him in the tent."

She slammed cabinets shut, before zeroing in on him. "What's that bandage for?"

Still not completely together, he rubbed his face and answered honestly as he wandered into where a large chunk of the Order was eating a late dinner. Shit they must have slept through the meeting. "It's not a big deal, Mum."

"Charlie!" She followed him, grabbing at his arm, "Every time you say that-"

"Just a little blood oath. Evening everyone." He shook himself free and dropped down next to Aunt Muriel, grabbing for a crusty roll and steadfastly avoiding Minerva's searching gaze. He felt itchy inside and did not like it.

Remus was frowning at him, "Blood oath with who?"

"Bill." The honest answer slipped out, "Made him bite me and do a blood exchange."

There was echoing silence and a glance at his mother simply turned into a guppy, her mouth opening and closing on repeat with no sound coming forth. He shrugged and started piling a plate. Remus recovered first, "Charlie-"

"I knew what I was doing, been writing with that werewolf expert since Bill got mauled. He thinks Bill's moonmones will lessen and I'll get a little bit." He smiled to show them it was ok, "Wins all around." He took a bite, "Any roast left?"

"My sweet Charlie…" Muriel's voice was soft, moved. "Let me take a look at you."

Hands across the table were folding and unfolding and when Charlie glanced her way she rose, "Molly, let me help you to a seat. You look faint."

There would be no seat for Molly Weasley and Charlie almost choked when she grabbed him, smothering him as she started to sob incoherently into his very short hair. "Mum, Mum, I'm fine."

Her sobs increased and he tried to reach an arm up around her, realizing nobody was going to rescue him as his brothers looked equally as dumbstruck. He twisted and managed to break most of her grip and pull her onto the bench, "Mum, I'm fine. Bill's fine, unless the dragon ate him. Fred go get him."

She started crying against his chest and he looked helplessly at George, waving his arm. George got up to come around, "Mum, we're all fine. Charlie always does whatever Bill did."

She was making noises, but the words couldn't be made out and Charlie grinned at George and tried his best howl. It was definitely different than the growls he used to make at Bill, "Mum, let me eat. Going through a blood change and all."

"So you're like Bill now?" Percy asked, eyes blinking in his frozen face.

"Got to wait and see." He wanted the potatoes Muriel was eating, but could not manage it with one arm being clutched. "Mum stop crying, I'm just going to get some awesome sensory upgrades."

"For your brother-" She sobbed and Charlie patted her, trying to shove her towards George but finding she wouldn't let go. George gently pulled at her and Charlie picked up his roll with his other hand and started munching on it. "Mum, it's not a big deal. Where's Dad?"

"Pull yourself together, Molly." Muriel said, "Charlie, let me have a look and see what you've done to yourself. Any symptoms?"

"Blood feels itchy, Bill said his felt like it was on fire, acid running through his veins. I wonder if Bill will remember any of it, got him tanked and still had to provoke him like I was Salazar Slytherin himself. Kept backing out like a little girl, got a huge bite on his arm where he bit himself instead." Munch, munch munch, pat the crying mum. "Mum, will you go make me food? It's all gone or cold."

She finally pulled away, sniffling as she headed for the kitchen, George following her. "Of course, of course. Anything for my baby. Such a giving boy, such a sweet…"

"Bet she goes all out." Charlie happily told the table. Muriel's wand was waving madly at him and he stole potatoes from her plate, glancing at Remus who had his hands tight on his mug. He felt a terrible wrenching sensation at seeing him like that, at knowing that even if this theory worked it could never help Remus' condition in the slightest. "Remus, will you document everything? If this works for Bill, it's helps a few."

"Of course." Remus nodded and went for a quill, ink and parchment and Charlie smiled to himself, hopefully it would work and hopefully the research would bring quite a bit of galleons for Remus.

Muriel was frowning, "You're not showing much of a change."

Charlie frowned himself, "I even did a minor blood switching spell. I think anyway. Fred, go make sure I didn't give Bill alcohol poisoning and bring him back here. He's gonna want to be here as it goes."

"I was just going to finish eating, jeez." Fred got up and left grabbing hangover and sober up potions as he went.

* * *

"Where's Bill?" Harry asked as Hermione walked in from being dropped off by Fred.

Hermione frowned, "Staying with Charlie and getting yelled at by his Mum. He's embarrassingly drunk and the sober up potions aren't working. Asked me to bring the cats so he could juggle them for Charlie."

Ron shook his head, "Can't believe he actually bit him, he's got to be torn up. Bet Charlie is cracking jokes though."

She shook her head, "Charlie's a little delusional, thinks he has fire ants in his veins. So they're both being ridiculous. Charlie won't let them knock him out or give him potions wants it documented.-"

Harry's scar burned and he struggled to not let out a cry as he swooshed backwards. Lord Voldemort was pleased, incredibly pleased. Fingering the aspen wand he'd just won from the world's top duelist. Now who to try it on? He snapped back.

"-Clutching a stuffed dragon Bill gave him forever ago. Harry?" Hermione's eyes narrowed. "Harry what's wrong?"

He rubbed his scar and looked at them, "We have to go. Now. He's got the Elder Wand."

Ron froze, "Are you sure?"

"He's sure." Harry rubbed again, "Let's go. Bill's gone and this might be our chance to get away without him."

Hermione looked very torn, glancing at the calendar. "Isn't it safer if we stay until we break in?"

"Not for Bill it isn't, not if You-Know-Who comes to break the wards with the world's most powerful wand."

She swallowed and there was a sheen of tears in her eyes and Harry wondered just what this was doing to her.

"Let me leave him a note. I don't want him to think we were taken. Check the supplies, take the food. Griphook, are you alright with this?"

"I am ready." The goblin said, "I do not like the beach."

Harry nodded and got up to grab the food, "Ron, check the bag."

It was quickly done and as they went out Harry told them he'd left something behind. Harry ran back into the house, wanting to make sure she hadn't said anything in her note. He scanned it, his heart breaking at the words of love and reassurance there. He wanted to give Hermione something, something for hurting her and looking around spotted the scrapbook she'd been working on with pictures from their wedding and grabbed it. He didn't think it was the right idea to have Bill with them on the hunt, but he didn't want to take him from Hermione either.

A quick run out and a goblin twist away they were in the mountains, to bide their days before they could break into Gringotts.

* * *

A/N: Reviewers get virtual cookies and as always love to hear who you want to see more of.


	26. Endless Night

A/N: Alright dear readers, we're up at the edge, only a few chapters left (depends on where the breakpoints are in the final battle and if I decide to incorporate the beltane chapter). The review response has been overwhelming and I'm an incredibly grateful author. I'll note this chapter starts light and ends heavy, so if you need a little more laughs head over to 'How to Woo a Witch' and 'Brotherly Love' for some laughs.

* * *

Endless Night

When Sybill Trelawney said in a very blank voice to her entire class that April 28th was going to be a bad day and the light was going to fall, it was only Lavender and Parvati that believed her. After the war, there wouldn't be a single Order member who'd survived that had a day that resembled anything other than dramatic chaos. Except perhaps Hagrid, who didn't seem to think getting attacked by a vicious pack of grindekrups that two curious idiots had secretly bred while at school was quite that terrible. He reckoned they hadn't meant to hurt him, jus' got a little excited and Poppy heavily disagreed on that front while healing both him and Fang.

* * *

"Dora, leave me the baby. We don't know what you're walking into." He implored her softly, reaching for little Teddy.

"Nope." The response was chirpy as she gestured back at the room where yells could be heard, "You're dealing with that, much more dangerous and I don't want Teddy getting bit by Charlie or Bill's monkey."

Technically, it was a cursed monkey from a London sweep shift, but Robinson had ignored everyone telling him not to give it to Bill to get the poor thing uncursed. Bill was too insensible to do magic, but had happily latched onto the little monkey, who couldn't stop playing his tambourine and Muriel had spent a fair number of minutes screaming about not wanting a monkey. He sighed and let her peck him, kissing her slightly longer in return. "Be safe and-"

"I love you too, Remmy." She pulled away, then paused to give him a huge smack, "One for luck."

Then his wife and child were gone, happily bouncing down the hallway, baby and sandwich in hand. Remus had been cursed by what ran in his blood, but also found himself incredibly blessed by the people who helped carry it. There had been the marauders, the wild times at school and the dark aftermath, the soft friendships and then there had been Dora. Dora who hadn't given a flying flip about his condition and frequently, bluntly, told him she sucked three days out of the month too. Dora who had refused to be ignored, Dora who had a smile that rivaled the sun, Dora who loved talking in accents, Dora who loved him for no reason. Dora whom he had never expected to hurricane through his solitary existence and was so thankful she blew herself off course and into his life.

He went back into the room where another man who had once been caught in Dora's orbit was and picked back up his role of scribe for King Charles the Second. Charlie looked absolutely deranged. "We waited for you! I want the executions recorded. These seven gnomes have committed grievous crimes against the crown. The knight said the rest fled his quest."

Remus glanced at their keeper, who had a straight face despite the dancing potatoes with carved faces and little hats in front of him. One of the twins' high voices came, "Please, sir, spare us."

What the hell was he supposed to annotate for this? Charlie Weasley went nuts as the virus burned his blood, thought he was a king and decided to sentence a bunch of garden gnomes to death? Except nobody wants to upset his little sister and kill said gnomes so we're playing fake potato murder? The words that James would have once said slipped out, "Don't russet."

Minerva covered her smile and George chortled from the doorway, whatever he was trying to say as a gnome being swallowed by laughter. Charlie had no notice, "Where's my princess? I want her to see them die."

Minerva patted his hand, "Calm down, Charlie. She's on her protective detail."

He seemed happy at the contact and soothed, giving her a sweet smile, reaching out to touch her long hair again. "Yes, my queen. Did I tell you why I let our knight court her?"

She shook her head and he started to crack himself up. "Because he's got a long sword."

Mrs. Weasley finally broke from her unnatural effort not to scold her child. "Charlie!"

"Thought it was a broadsword." Bill offered, gigglingly madly to his monkey. Remus eyed him, he wasn't sure what exactly they were going to do with Bill if whatever Charlie did to him didn't wear off.

Charlie was cracking himself up, just saying different kinds of weapons, "He's gonna sheath that-"

"Charlie! That's your sister!"

"Put an arrow in that bow."

"Shut it." He was scolded by his friend, wand swiping his forehead to check the temperature. "Remus, he's up a degree."

"Rev that engine. You said I got the cool dates, where was I for chasing a train? Dad got it." Charlie shot back.

"It was an Order shift, had to get that damn-"

"You smell like antelope." Charlie cut him off, sniffing at him, "Get my piercings out, I don't like them now and my arms feel weird, all tingly."

Remus made eye contact with Minerva after he'd annotated the newest developments, as Charlie clutched Smokey, his beloved beat up stuffed dragon. She was out of sorts, torn over what had become of her once prized pupil and Remus wondered at the intense concern. Minerva was who held it together when the world fell apart and Charlie being wild enough to inflict this on himself was not in that category. "Stop licking me and let me get it out."

He slammed back into reality at the loud exclamation. "Fuck, Charlie. Did you have to bite me?"

"Yes." Completely unrepentant. "You said I could if I wanted and you don't taste like antelope."

There was a curious pause, "What do I taste like?"

"You pulled away." Charlie pouted, grabbing at his shirt and yanking the hand back.

"Don't." Remus called, throwing his parchment and ink everywhere to try and stop whatever the hell Charlie was doing, apparently trying to eat his mate's arm like a turkey leg.

He was slammed by a sticking charm by Minerva, "He's already bitten him." Minerva looked at the two, at one gnawing on the other's arm and gave a tense reply. "Charlie can't pass it on yet. Just using him as a chew toy. Molly, take a photo, it's rather cute."

"Bill, come taste this!" Charlie yelled, unable to speak at a normal volume in his delirium. "He's the questionable plate at festival, you know? The smoked one with the olives."

Bill started to get up, but his little monkey offered him a banana instead. Remus internally sighed, he was going to have to be the one to deal with the monkey unless they could get Robinson to take it with him. "Mum, can I bite Ginny? He's got a little Gin on him and she smells tasty, like a cherry tart."

"Absolutely not." Mrs. Weasley was outraged.

"A nibble? Ginny's a brat sometimes." Charlie argued.

"No, Charlie." The glare turned, "And you Bill-"

"Shut it, Mum. She's a fucking nightmare and deserves to be bitten, wouldn't stop screeching yesterday." Charlie paused to take a lick, "My coffee was cold, you prat."

"She was screaming at you because you handed a toddler your wand and let him go nuts. You don't mess with Miss Ginny and her charges."

"I couldn't find the hippo he wanted." Charlie confessed, shoving the arm in Bill's direction again.

"You're not biting my Ginny." It was a demand as he flinched slightly at the depth of the responding bite, much to Charlie's delight. Remus annotated that Charlie seemed especially keen on sucking the blood and took pleasure in the pain.

"You're lucky you're tasty." Charlie went back to gnawing.

Remus was at his wits end, he really wanted to just give him a potion and let the virus spread while he was knocked out. "Charlie, I think you should lay down now."

"No, no. That won't help your research." Charlie protested.

"Bill, stop that." Molly scolded and he didn't even bother to look at whatever Bill was doing.

"Be nice to Bill, Mum. This is your fault, you know. He gets it from you." Molly flushed and Charlie grinned pushing his treat away, "Yes, yes, Uncle Fab loved to tell Bill and I of Molly's merwater misadventure as a bedtime story. You should tell it to me now, I decree it."

"I don't remember any of it." Demanding stories, Remus wrote, spilling family secrets. Charlie prepped his little dragon in preparation. Remus made another suggestion that Charlie could hear the story if he laid down and was once again shot down.

Minerva sighed, "I'll tell it, or what I remember. Young Molly Prewett tried merwater at a quidditch after party and subsequently wandered off and was missing for hours. Your father eventually panicked and requested staff help, but most of the staff was trying to repair the Slytherin common room which had been mysteriously destroyed."

"Go Mum go." Bill said. "Night Dad knew it was Mum."

"Your uncles got owls inviting them to a wedding between a unicorn and thestral and Molly was found much in Bill's state with both animals in the owlery and very vocally proclaimed they were in love." Minerva patted his hand and Remus didn't think he'd ever seen the Weasley matriarch so flushed before.

Molly was also annoyed, "Then Dippet separated them and it was very tragic, he wouldn't even listen to Albus on the matter."

"Bill, want to play quidditch?" Charlie asked bouncing up.

"Bill should also lay down." Remus tried again, because if Bill was on a broom he would immediately crash it.

"No, he's going to puke his guts out soon." Charlie happily told them, "Blew a blood vessel in his eye last time."

"I don't want to." Bill protested, "I want-"

"We know Bill, she left because you kept trying to maul her." Charlie scolded him, "She didn't want to be undressed."

"Yes she did." Bill protested, "I know these things. Mum, you can start knitting baby things."

"What?" Mrs. Weasley asked in sheer excitement, "Are you two?"

"She didn't want her toast this morning. She loves toast. Toast is her favorite, yells at Ron if there is no toasts." Bill nudged his monkey, offering a bite of the banana.

"I don't think that's quiet enough to declare you're going to be a father, Bill." Remus cut in and got a shrug in response.

"I'm not packing blanks. Weasley men father things, it's one of the truths of the wizarding world." Bill grinned happily at them, at least he sounded slightly more coherent and his vocabulary was improving. "Aren't we even in a school book somewhere, Minerva? As a warning to witches?"

There was a sigh, "No, that was selective education on my part. I preferred when you lot dated amongst other houses so I didn't have to handle it. My apologies, Molly, but some of your boys had a penchant for disrupting the peace of the Common Room in their efforts to woo."

"I think she's talking about us, Charlie." Bill made a guess.

"Probably. Remus, do you get weirded out thinking about how everything Dora does in bed with you she learned from me?" Charlie asked curiously.

Remus' grip on his quill tightened, "Hadn't occurred to me, Charlie."

"Well next time she does the crazy spine thing, think of me."

"I'd prefer not to." Hell, it wasn't like when Dora was doing that he could think anyway.

"I want to name your first baby." Charlie turned to Bill, issuing more decrees. "I get to, you bit me."

"Only if you promise to not just name it after yourself." Bill agreed easily enough, "Better be cool."

"I think you both need to lay down." Remus tried again, "Bill, I believe your wife will have something to say about what she wants her future children named."

"Bill, I want the first grandbaby to be a girl. Or little girl twins, yes, yes, that will do perfectly." Mrs. Weasley declared. "I'll watch them for you two."

"Got to talk to Angelina about that." Charlie informed his mother, "Georgie sprogged her up."

"He's not sure." Bill argued, 'I'm going to be first. I'm always first."

Mrs. Weasley turned white with fury, "George! Get in here!"

"Got a shift, sorry, bye." George called, voice rapidly moving away from the door.

"Mum, what if nobody wants me now?" Charlie said it very quietly, his voice rather raw as he clutched at Smokey.

"Oh Charlie," His mother exclaimed, "That's just not possible. Look at Bill, Hermione still married him even though he..well he looks-"

Bill sounded distinctly more like himself. "S'alright, Mum. I've got a mirror. Charlie, I look like I fell on scissors and still got the grand prize. You were the one who cheered me up after I thought she'd be afraid of me, you were the one to talk sense in Remus over Tonks. Think a girl doesn't want a guy like that?" He paused, "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Remus was an accident, I was just pissed that I'd gone over to her place thinking we might have a friendly shag and she just cried all over me instead. You made her so miserable and I didn't like it." Charlie looked thoughtful and Remus internally winced, he was never going to live those months down. It wasn't as if he knew she was crying her eyes out in Hogsmeade or talking to everyone and their mother about it. He'd been in the wild trying to get into a pack and equally as miserable, but nobody felt bad for him over it.

"It did the trick and Bill's right, Charlie." Remus managed a smile at him, a completely furious Charlie had certainly been memorable even if it had left him feeling guilty. He'd been elated to find out at the fact Dora's heart had been his by the end of their first conversation and she ended things with Charlie as a result. Maybe he should tell Dora to go for it with her matchmaking efforts for him and try not to be jealous over the fact she still cared for him, he could turn Moony off enough for that now that they had Teddy.

"Any young woman would be lucky to catch your eye." Minerva said quietly, patting his hand.

This only seemed to make Charlie feel worse, he looked away from her, clutching his dragon closer. "I think I'll lay down now." His voice was glum, "Go finish becoming super Charlie where I won't bother anyone."

He got up and left, Bill and his Mum following rapidly after him, the sound of Bill being sick in the hallway floating back to them. Remus paused, glancing at his notes and when he looked up found Minerva looking extremely tight as she pulled her loose hair back into the traditional bun she wore. Robinson seemed to be looking at her very thoughtfully with a slight smile as he healed the bites on his arm. Remus tried to offer some comfort. "Minerva, he'll be fine. He's almost all the way through it."

She merely nodded and Remus had a strange feeling he was missing a piece of the puzzle. Robinson stood, "Minerva, you'll be joining us for Beltane, right? Charlie will need a partner since I'll be warding over Ginny."

"I've got to ward at Hogwarts, but perhaps Charlie wouldn't mind helping with the Forbidden Forest. Godric only knows how much time the two you spent in there, hanging out with centaurs or whatever it was you were doing." She gave a smile then abruptly covered it. "If you'd like I'll help you pick your runes, warding over Ginny will be quite different than a dragon reserve."

"Thanks. Just make sure to protectively ward Charlie with as many water runes as you can, helps keep him from getting torched or blowing his temper." He nodded his thanks and headed for the door only to collide with Dora. Where the hell was Teddy?

* * *

Bill frowned at finding the door locked, dread settling in. He undid it and called out into the too still house, his voice slightly raw from being sick. "Hermione?"

He swallowed the bile caught in his throat, calling again as he set the flowers he brought her down on the table to apologize for being completely inappropriate for several hours.

No answer and his insides clenched as he moved through the kitchen, through the empty quiet house, praying she was just sleeping, hoping she hadn't gone. Knowing she had. He read the note, clenching it in his hands. Knowing it had been coming didn't make it hurt any less. Didn't take away the searing feelings of betrayal he felt stronger than the worry or the anger. He shoved his face in his hands trying to bury it, feeling her responding flash of wretchedness through the bond. At least she wasn't happy either. He tried to calm himself, telling himself he had a plan, telling himself the goblin absolutely could not betray him. He'd made sure of that. It didn't work and he went for his swim trunks to head for the beach, he was going to swim off this awful day and try to be supportive. He could do that, could hide the fact they'd left for as long as possible. He could handle that his brother was recovering from a bite he'd inflicted and his wife was gone, he could do that. He could keep the wildness of the wolfish side of him at bay over her not being where he could protect her, that was possible. Charlie had made that possible, Charlie who had stopped crying once he was cuddled. There was a little sad mew at his ankles and he reached down for Crookshanks, hugging him maybe harder than necessary, needing the contact. "That's right, Crooks, she left both of us, didn't she?"

He sat back down, still hugging him and accepted the tentative lick at his cheek. "She's going to be ok until I join her, Crookshanks. She's strong."

He petted him, "She's got Harry and Ron-" hiss. "I know you don't like him, but he won't let her get hurt." He better freaking not, he'd promised and promised. "We can do the moon without her, right? We have Charlie now. You know I have to go the other way."

The cat was looking at him like he was an idiot and Bill had to agree, he was sitting there talking to a cat. He also knew that Crookshanks was completely right. He let go of him, expecting him to go find his own Hermione, but Crookshanks stayed with him, curling on his lap as Bill reread her note again and again, trying very hard not to sink into a funk. He failed and reached around for the bedside table, fumbling in the drawer for his latch mirror, hoping she'd be peering in hers. She was, bending over it, hair falling around her looking anxious. "I'm sorry."

There was nothing else to say but, "Me too." He swallowed, "You're safe and warded in?"

She sat up wherever she was and nodded, pushing her hair off of her face and he froze. "Hermione, where the bloody hell is your jewelry?"

She looked startled, "It's in the little jewelry box by the bed. I was afraid-"

Everything dropped out from under him and he felt himself start to shake in anger and disappointment. He was torn in half, voice anguished. "I get that you had to leave, but did you have to fucking erase me from your life too?"

"Bill?! I don't know-" He couldn't stand looking at her and threw the mirror across the room, watching it smash into shards, just like she'd just done to his heart. She had promised she would never leave him, had promised she'd married all of him.

She'd asked for secrets and given him lies.

* * *

Severus was eyeing the pale blonde boy across from him, once arrogant and now looking like he constantly needed a calming draught. Had he not managed to convince them to keep the Lovegood girl alive even after her father had failed? Was a life worth more than Draco's happiness? Draco had already carried the sins of his father, did he need to do it again? Albus' words floated back to him on being the master of your own destiny, words he had scoffed at when he was Draco's age. Words that had not mattered when it seemed the choices for him were already made, set in immovable mountains of stone. How young and wrong he had been. Severus let the laconic words roll out. "Then I suggest you examine your choices before the request comes."

Draco's face changed colors, the words sinking in and Severus went on, glad his cunning mind was seeing the possibilities. "I believe your mother might be of service in… gathering knowledge on the subject."

He nodded, "May I use your floo?"

He shook his head, "I believe Professor Slughorn's would be more prudent. I'd hate to show favoritism."

Draco left and Severus went back to musing, he'd given Draco choices, but in doing so had he doomed someone else to an more unhappy ending? Severus shook his head and left the office, not wanting the advice of paintings, not wanting the cunning hindsight of those long gone. There were few happy endings on that wall, few easy lives untouched by war and Severus could not look at the students. They were yet another generation stuck in the cycle, another set of youth wasted on defiance instead of learning, another set of lives that would be coated in bitterness and fear. Did he even know anyone who was happy? Anyone who he had walked these halls with him that wasn't dead or miserable?

The wars had changed them all, these children, the adults here. Minerva especially, she was so distracted with tension and worry she barely seemed to be docking points anymore. When he'd noted on it after her watching a prank and doing nothing, she had given him a scathing look and told him they were children and deserved to laugh once in awhile. He suspected there might be more to it, but chose not to comment on whatever was going on in personal life. Perhaps he might have to, tell her that the second eldest Weasley was not allowed on castle grounds and to remind him of that fact, perhaps remind him he had a bounty on his head as well. Reckless that one was. He gave an internal sigh, the Weasleys had gotten themselves far too entangled in the outcome of this war with their idealistic ways. They would learn those who gave the most lost the most. How many of them would walk away from it?

The end was coming, he knew that, everyone could feel it. The Dark Lord was pleased with the fact the opposition felt like they had a lighter at their back, enjoyed the fact the wizarding world felt as if this would be their last happy Beltane. Hope was waning, Harry Potter had roused it on that silly radio program, but yet to do a thing. The laws were passing so easily now, the Wizengamot not fighting them anymore after just enough bloodshed to change defiance into fearful compliance to build the perfect regime. Their children were next, their lives to be shifted and dictated into building a grand empire based on blood purity. A stray thought of whether he should blame his father or his mother for the path he'd taken, or simply blame himself.

Poppy rounded a corner, her normally gentle face filled with fury. Her words were sharp and her gestures wild, "Rein them in. These are children they're torturing."

There were no children left in this war. He gave her an honest response, not that she'd appreciate it, not that he wanted to give it, but too caught up in his thoughts it slipped out. "Would you rather they be dead? I'm doing the best I can."

She stopped at that. She hadn't expected it, had expected him to glory in the fact the Carrows were trying to beat submission into children. Children should only fight children, perhaps there were a few exceptions, he wouldn't have minded watching the methods used on James Potter. He tried to cover it, "We must, after all, be able to still educate the next generation."

She looked at him carefully, eyes searching. Her next words a begrudging warning, "I believe, Professor Snape, that you should refrain from eating so much dessert. It's bad for your constitution."

"Excellent advice, Madame Pomfrey. Did your supplies come in?" How interesting, poison most likely. He wondered just exactly who'd done it, Slughorn was too much of a coward to go to that length, Minerva too moral, Filius perhaps or even the oaf. He'd be pleased to be wrong, eyeing that all of the dessert was fruit based, grown in the greenhouses, Pomona then. He didn't know Sprout had it in her and would be rather surprised to have the Sorting Hat tell him later that night she'd almost been in Slytherin, but thought she could go farther in Hufflepuff. Which to Snape was a very Slytherin way of looking at things. Still it put the Carrows back in the hospital wing and he suspected their treatment might take rather longer than they would like.

* * *

It was Ron and Griphook who clarified it, who took Hermione's bewildered and aching heart and threw it into the fire they were sitting around, tossing it unwilling onto a pyre.

"Hermione, you didn't." Ron looked horrified, "Whatever was wrong, the two of you could have talked about it. Or you could have talked to us and-"

"Nothing was wrong, I don't understand why he's so upset. I just was afraid if we got caught again snatchers would take my jewelry." Hermione was shaking her head, "He broke his mirror and all I could see was him starting to destroy our room."

"Hermione Granger-"

"Weasley." She corrected and the goblin shook his head.

"Granger, you are wife to him no more. If a witch wishes to end her marriage she leaves the protection of her husband's home and leaves behind all marriage gifts as she has no legal recourse in the wizarding world. I do not know how this works with your Ministry, but it is a goblin recognized divorce and assets held by goblins will be split accordingly."

Hermione seemed to be shaking wildly and looked to Ron who gave a glum nod. "I didn't know, oh I didn't know. Oh, he's so angry and hurt, I can feel it."

"Go pull yourself together, witch." She went into the tent still shaking and rambling to herself, and Harry rose to follow, slim goblin hands catching his wrist and holding him there.

Harry looked at him and Griphook motioned for him to sit back down, Harry did, "But Hermione-"

Griphook gave a speculative, not entirely trustworthy look back at the eerily quiet tent. "Has put all of us in grave danger by what she's done."

"She didn't know." Harry said hotly, "It's not like Bill's going to come murder us."

Griphook shook his head, "I wouldn't be so sure of that. She's a claimed witch-"

"I don't really get what that means." Ron said tentatively, looking terribly miserable.

"She has accepted the ownership of a wolf over her body, but she's removed Bill's claim from her by taking off her gift." Griphook shook his head, "Foolish girl. She's a beacon now for our location, they'll smell the claim and have no reason not to want to conquer it, no wolf's signature indicating they'd have to fight for her. Do you think Greyback's pack won't want revenge?"

"Why do you know so much about this?" Harry asked suspiciously, Bill's warnings about trusting goblins running through his mind looking at those clever eyes.

"My first role at Gringotts was in the library, with more valuable tomes than even Hogwarts. Jewels aren't the only treasure goblins keep." He gave a strange half smile. "We'll have to leave her behind or send her back."

"No." They said it in unison.

Griphook shook his head, "Harry Potter you are battling the Dark Lord, do you also need to battle every wolf without a mate in England? Send her back to her husband, if he'll take her, for her safety and yours."

"No, we'll figure out a way. If Hermione wants to go back, fine, but if she wants to stay we'll just double the wards." Harry said resolutely.

Griphook stood and entered the tent, "Her blood will be on your hands, Harry Potter, not mine."

Harry put his face in his hands, "What do we do, Ron?"

"I don't know, mate. This is normally where Hermione comes up with a plan." Ron sounded equally as glum, "I bet Bill is losing his shit. What an awful day for him, first with Charlie and now this. I hope he doesn't do anything stupid."

Hermione came out of the tent, looking broken. "I can't…I can't summon a patronus. Can one of you? I need to tell-"

She burst into harsh tears and Harry pulled her close, unable to understand what she was asking through her sobs. He watched Ron summon his terrier, "Bill, she didn't know, just wanted to not lose her jewelry. She loves you, she wants to be married to you."

When after several attempts it became clear no response was coming a terrible coldness seemed to settle on the girl in Harry's arms. She stiffened and pulled away, voice hoarse. "I'll take the first watch."

"Hermione-" Ron tried.

"I'm not going to sleep." Blunt, there was a tundra in her eyes and Harry ached for her, she looked older, as if decades had passed her by in minutes.

"Hermione," Harry started, unsure of where he was going. What was there to say? Sorry you accidentally dumped your husband? He'll be fine, he's a nice bloke most of the time who loves you to bits. He's probably just swimming it off, but don't fret, he knows deep down you love him, you've got that nifty bond.

"Get some rest." She didn't bother to look at him as she said it, just kept staring into the night and Harry wondered if she thought it was his fault. Wasn't it? He hadn't wanted Bill along, had taken lengths to leave him behind.

"I'll sit with you." Harry offered in some sort of attempt at solace. She was aching, hurting and didn't deserve that.

"I don't want company." Clipped and it didn't matter.

Harry stayed anyway, he drifted into a doze at her side, tired and warmed by the fire. His dreams were disjointed and filled with high cold laughter at the most beautiful girl Harry knew looking disheveled and distraught, and a very strange one of Dedalus Diggle dancing with Uncle Vernon.

When he woke, it was to Ron shaking him, "I'm on watch. Hermione's going to pop back home real quick, grab her jewelry and try and calm Bill down."

"How will she find us?" Harry asked, trying to cling to whatever he had seen that was important.

"She took the deluminator, she's real worried about Bill." Ron looked slightly guilty, "Wouldn't let either of us go with her."

When a series of very serious patronuses would start appearing in the middle of the night they wouldn't be able to break camp fast enough.

* * *

"Why should I even be talking to you when Ted is dead because of what you believe in?" Andromeda Tonks asked her youngest sister, glancing around the meeting place that she'd chosen. The middle of nowhere had seemed like a good idea for two sisters to have a conversation twenty odd years in the making.

"I had nothing to do with that. I'm a prisoner in my own home." It was the truth, if Andy and Ted had never lied about his status all of those years ago and she'd not run away she wondered what her life would have been like. If Andy simply would have done as their father said, Bella would have never dragged everyone into the mess trying to clear the family name. She took a deep breath, that wasn't the point of today, today was about Draco.

"So come to mine. You've always known that's an option." Her sister's eyes were sincere and she shook her head.

"I can't. My family is there, my baby not even safe at school. I've got to protect Lucius and Bella."

"I don't think Bella needs any protecting. She made her choices." There was sadness in the statement, a sister she'd already mourned and pruned from her heart.

"She needs protecting from herself. Andy, you don't know how Bella is over Him. She's completely jealous at the thought he wants to keep the Weasley girl alive and I'm afraid she'll snap and go kill her." Narcissa Malfoy glanced over her shoulder again, looking torn and tried not to let her voice break. "If she dies he'll kill Draco."

"Why?" Her sister pressed, fingers tight on her forearms.

"Because Lucius dragged the damn girl into this by giving her a diary years ago over some stupid prophecy. Just like he helped Bella drag me into this." It was bitterly said, if only so many things had been different then. Had it been Lucius or Bella? Sometimes it was hard to remember who had held the larger pull on her decisions then.

"You could have run away over marry him, Cissy." Andromeda scolded her lightly. "We offered you our home."

Yes, well that was years ago and she'd made her bed and had to lie in it. That was back when she, the weakest of three sisters had been swayed by Bella, closest to her in age and completely charming. Bella who when she'd flinched at the thought had managed a cunning way around it. Her words were clipped and embarrassed, "Andy, Bella dosed me with love potions for the courtship."

Her sister gave a sad frown, hugging herself. "You've been married so long."

"I've grown to love him." She said it softly, it had taken time for her young, married to a Death Eater and abruptly out of a strange haze where he'd been perfect. She hadn't expected Lucius to be kind and patient with her upon finding out, to have to fall deeper into his Master's web to protect her. To go to the lengths he did for his Master to get help in giving her a child. "Draco doesn't have the noble father he deserves, but he can't help. That's why I'm asking you."

Her sister's face fell, "Still, Cissy? He never-"

"I know, he only had eyes for that foolish Evans girl." Her insides gave a weak clench and she looked away knowing none of it showed on her face, she'd had years of practice hiding it. Hiding it from him, hiding it from her husband who she thought knew anyway, trying to hide it from herself. "Severus saved Draco once already. That's all I can ask."

Andy looked torn and she swallowed again, "The Weasley girl's idiot suitor isn't heeding any of the warnings I've had sent to him and now my intermediary is dead. I need to know where he is, there's only hours left before the law passes tomorrow evening."

"Law?" Andy asked in alarm, "What law?"

"They're redefining courtship rules to where the Ministry will have guardianship over any daughter of the Sacred Twenty-Eight to prevent blood mixing and that's only the first draft. Draco will be asked to file a suit for her and she'll be forcibly given to us to watch. I had to watch Bella rip apart that other one, the know it all girl from Draco's year."

"You should have stopped her, Cissy." Andy said, her face thinking and Narcissa felt the familiar feeling of someone trying to invade her brain and focused her memories on what she would allow them to see. Stopping Bella had never been an option, not if she wanted Draco safe, why couldn't Andy see that?

A bright pink haired young woman disillusioned herself moments later, "Wotcher, Aunt. Mum, she stopped Hermione from getting murdered or worse. Got crucioed for it after by your crazy sister."

"She'd very much like to kill you." Narcissa told her shortly, Bella's rage at the fact Andy had run off, married a mudblood and produced a very rare magical baby was so deep it ran into her bones. She'd been brainwashed and absolutely loyal before, but completely invested after Azkaban.

"Oh, I know. She's tried twice." Tonks winked, "I'll take you to Ralph while I try and find a loophole. That's so much bigger than Ginny, it's all of the unmarried ones." Her voice got cheery, "He works at the muggle Ministry. Isn't that neat?"

It was abhorrent, that was what it was. Her intermediary had been mailing him there. The Weasleys' strange ways of thinking would have of course encouraged her to lower herself to some mudblood who'd forsaken the magic he'd been given to stay as a precious muggle. This was going to be completely humiliating. Yet, if it kept Draco from a forced courtship, kept the girl out from under her roof, kept Bella from killing her and getting Draco killed as punishment it was where she would go for her family. The Dark Lord's displeasure with their family was too high right now for a single misstep. She kept her voice stiffly formal, "Thank you, Nymphadora."

"Call me Tonks." She wrinkled her nose, "Or Dora. Why Mum did that to me, I'll never know."

"It's a beautiful name and it's traditional in the Black family." Andromeda protested to her daughter.

"It's horrendous, Mum, and they burned you off the tree, so it was completely unnecessary to do that to your only child. Notice how my kid has a nice normal name?" Tonks turned back to her and a very tiny blue haired baby appeared in her arms, "Want to see Teddy?"

She peered at the sleeping infant and softened, stroking a soft cheek, how she had wanted more children. "He's lovely, takes after you I see."

Her niece beamed and passed him over to her mother, "If you run away from the crazy side you can help Mum watch him when I go back to work. Now let's go, we're on a tight schedule."

She found herself twisted into a hallway, Nymphadora already chatting at her, "We want a few more kids. Well I do, Remus worries and worries, it's good he has me around to lighten him up. You'd like him."

Her werewolf husband, Merlin what exactly was she reducing herself to by asking these people to help? Still, Draco had learned quite a bit the year he'd had the man as a teacher and she remembered him from school. Quiet natured, occasional savior for Severus when he was able to control his friends, occasional hell raiser and while she'd never admit it now knowing his status she had very often hidden a smile at his wit when verbally sparring with their house. "I went to school with him."

Her niece managed to brighten even more, lighting up the hallway as she drug her along. "Sorry for that. So why Ginny?"

She shook her head, she really only wanted to have that conversation once. "It's complicated. We've been trailing her for weeks and the Dark Lord wants daily updates on her. Bella goes into a daily rage over it." A daily rage where she smashed glassware, an increasing rant on how the best option would be to kill her and the suitor and be done with it. A complete meltdown when the Dark Lord had taunted her with saying the girl knew a part of him Bella could never know.

Dora shifted, "Is she in love with him or something? She's the only female Death Eater that we know of."

"She is the only one in the inner circle. There used to be more, but they died in Azkaban." She pulled to the side to avoid a filthy muggle woman, trying to find words for how Bella felt about the Dark Lord was complicated. It was more than love, more than obsession or dedication, it was as if she'd poured herself fully into being what he needed. It was sick and it was heartbreaking to see because nothing more than a fondness for a pet came her way. Bella had given him her life, her youth and had been given nothing in return.

"Here we are!" Nymphadora declared, rapping on a door then paused, "Hell, he's at headquarters for C. Want to go there or-?"

"I'll wait." She couldn't handle going to whatever headquarters the Order of the Phoenix had set up. She had already gone too far. Her niece promptly broke the lock and led her into a flat, "It's all muggle, but make yourself at home. I'll go get him and tell Remus to keep the monkey for now. Do tell your people to stop cursing animals, it's just wrong."

"Probably Rabastan." She informed her niece glancing around her little muggle prison.

Dora looked at something, "Oh Ralph's not going to take that lying down."

Unsure exactly what to do with herself and not wanting to get near the muggle machine things she moved towards the kitchen to see what Dora was looking at as she twisted away. That had to be a courtship gift, hadn't she given Lucius a similar photo frame? Hers had been so different from this one, her photos cold and posed, not one ounce of the happiness framed here, no grinning girl amongst dragons, no pigtailed hugs at the platform, no girl caught smiling to herself as she read a letter. Her eyes caught the note and she thought about hiding it. If he didn't know then Draco-

Crack. Dora hadn't come back, it was just a young man. It was a bark. "What's this about Ginny?" He shifted and shook his head at her face, swallowing it down. "Sorry. Can I offer you any refreshment?"

"Tea would be lovely." She requested, he grabbed the kettle and went to fill it and she watched as his eyes caught the four words, the left behind hairpin and his jaw clenched. There was shock, anger, confusion and most of all hurt radiating from him. Narcissa Malfoy was many things, but first and foremost she was a mother and that was what this boy standing there with an overflowing kettle needed. She turned off the water and took the kettle from him.

"She's trying to protect you." She told him softly, "It's complicated."

"Why don't you start at the beginning?" He requested tightly, tucking everything down in his light eyes, but losing the battle in his voice, the slight Australian accent he carried thickening out of the more English tones he'd just used. He did something to the stove and gestured for her to place the kettle, grabbing firewhiskey down for himself.

Well that would take entirely too long and she needed to get home before they realized she was gone. It really started with Molly Weasley and the lengths she suspected she went to for a daughter were magics only witches should know. The words that had driven Lucius to give the girl the diary in the first place would do him no good. She'd start where he needed to know. "My husband gave Ginevra a diary-"

"Yeah, thank him for me. It was real sweet of him."

"Don't take that tone with me, boy. I've tried to warn you." It was a snap, she didn't have time for him to wallow.

"Sorry." He clearly didn't mean it, eyes still stuck glued to the note on the counter, attention divided.

"There was a second diary, a recording of sorts. After the Dark Lord saw Ginevra hoping to bait Potter, he asked for it and spent days reading it. Lucius and Severus believe he felt a connection with her."

"What kind of connection?" It was a demand, slightly possessive and extremely protective.

Could he just stop interrupting? "He became rapidly fascinated with the girl, recalling my son to ask for every bit of information on her." She waved at his window, "You should learn to close your blinds. I've had someone mailing photos to your filthy job to try and get you to just hide her away and get her out of the muggle world."

He looked annoyed for a second, "I don't handle the mail. That meddlesome intern is getting her ass fired tomorrow." A pause, guilt. "Gin's been saying she felt like someone was watching her. Just kept reassuring her it was the muggle scandals."

A glance at the clock told her time was shorter than she needed. "The diary-"

"But Harry killed the diary. That's what Gin-"

He was very quickly becoming completely insufferable. "Shush and let me talk, boy. He killed what was in the diary, not what was still lingering in the girl as he tried to exchange souls. Lucius suspects your Ginevra is walking around with a dormant chunk of sixteen year old Tom Riddle in her. We're not positive, of course, but either way there is something between them."

"Bloody fuck." It was said under his breath. He took a long swig of his firewhiskey and pulled the kettle, hands slightly shaky even though his voice was firm. "Has he done anything to her?"

She was not privy to the Dark Lord's daily movements, but he had been in an unusually good mood this morning and come back from wherever he went amused. "Project Persephone has been no contact until now." She folded her hands, "He gave her the diary today."

He broke the teacup he was holding, probably scalding himself. She went on, wand waving to fix it and took the tea preparation from him. "I suspect he paid her a visit this afternoon as her regular watcher was dismissed for a time." She eyed him, he seemed to be at the verge of tearing off after her, which had to wait. "Keep yourself together, boy, go sit down."

He swallowed and moved towards the couch, pocketing the hairpin as he went. "Anything that can be done?"

Yes and you're not going to like a single option. "There are ways. What do you know about soul magic?"

He shook his head, "Mainly how it relates to dragons, I know souls can be exchanged and put into objects. I think Charlie's uncle Bilius died from a botched bonding."

"Dragons have souls?" It slipped out, then she shook her head and waved his mouth shut. It didn't matter at the moment. "The Dark Lord wants Ginevra under his protection now and is going to use my son to do it, unless someone gets the suspected chunk out of her. If she doesn't have it, he won't care about her other than a way to get at Potter." She so dearly hoped, she glanced at the photos and got to the point. "I know it's highly personal, but is your magic compatible?"

He just nodded, silently sipping his firewhiskey. She gave him a tight smile, "Good, maybe you'll manage not to kill her." His hands clenched, "Or yourself if you're the one to do it. I only know of the darker ways to split or join a soul, perhaps your ever so righteous Weasleys will know a different way. Molly, I believe, is very well versed in pureblood traditions back to when the witches were made. If you don't mind, would you get her?"

He shook his head, "Tell me what you know first, Mrs. Weasley will just get hysterical and it'll take hours, which I'm guessing you don't have."

At least he wasn't a complete idiot. She began talking, but his protests were rather insufferable until she snapped, "Part of love is pain, boy. Wouldn't you rather be the one to hurt her?"

"There's got to be another way." The look she got in return was both anguished and pitying. Narcissa couldn't stand being pitied, could practically read his naive little muggle thoughts on romance. She'd hit him with a crucio before she'd thought about it, he had no understanding of the depths of love, of the ruthlessness that lived in a truly bonded heart. Of how far she would go for her family, of how far they'd been. She was disappointed and begrudgingly gave him a few more points when he refused to make a noise, riding it out in a very determined silence and flat hands. She hated him even more when he continued to pity her, when his next words offered her refuge in a foreign land.

She talked and talked, watched as he went pale, watched the anger growing, watched him get up and make the ringing noise stop, watched as he shook his head over and over, glancing again and again at the photo of the girl who'd ensnared him, watched his face drop into his hands at one point mumbling that option was completely unimaginable.

She took her leave when a disembodied voice screeched from somewhere that Ginny was absolutely not allowed to spend the night with him and he needed to bring her back that instant. She would only be home an hour before the Dark Lord would storm around her manor in a furious rage and she would remove her slightly good opinion. It turned out he was in fact an imbecile who was very likely going to get himself killed before he could do her Draco any good.

* * *

Bill was in a complete struggle with himself, the wolfish instinct wanting to fetch his wayward wife and teach her a lesson that would make Greyback look tame. The man devastated and angry enough to be approaching a warlock's wrath, the man who was desperately trying to hold on to the fact the messages had said she didn't know. She was muggleborn, he told himself, she was meticulous, she just wanted it safe and he couldn't find the wedding album to burn it. He'd just burn the bed he'd built her.

He was shaking with the effort of not tearing off after her, he refused to do it. He could find her easy enough, that lovely watch someone had sent as a gift could pinpoint her. The man that loved the woman refused to let himself hunt her down and hurt her and what Charlie had given him was the only reason he was able to even do something he'd never even contemplated. He snapped his wand in half and threw it into the fire, ignoring the howling outrage inside of him as the moon rose. He wasn't going anywhere, no wand, no apparating. That side wasn't allowed to win. Someone came in and a superficial glance told him it was Ginny, "Get the fuck out."

"But Bill-" Her voice was pleading and he didn't give a damn.

"Ginny, I will fucking drag you to the ocean and drown you right now. Get lost." It was all he was able to manage over the flooding struggle and she fled, her shoeless and bloody state completely unnoticed.

He managed to get himself to the check-in mirror, to grab it and do the only thing he could before the rage hit him worse than it had with Greyback. "Assistance needed. Somebody come contain me."

Holly the Hufflepuff looked completely startled as she fumbled with the mirror. "What?"

"Might be hitting a warlock's wrath." He gritted it out, they had to come before it got bad enough to trigger Aurors and he was forcibly contained by the Ministry until his magic could get back under control. He loved her, he wouldn't do it.

"Just hold on." She told him and turned to scream at someone, there was yelling at the other end. She peered back in, "Remus and Augusta are coming."

"I'm going to rip their throats out for taking her." He took a deep breath, he didn't mean that, "Going to tear Griphook's fucking head off."

He meant that, dirty little double crossing thing taking her away. It had to have been goblin apparition, she didn't know he'd removed the anti-apparition charms. He was going to sell his body back to the goblins that wanted him in freaking pieces. The mirror was abruptly ripped from her and his Mum's face appeared. "Bill, listen to me, you've got to calm down."

"She left, Mum. She left me for Ron and Harry." His insides felt like hot lava.

"Ron is your brother, Bill. He'd never-"

"Have you fucking met Ron? He's wanted her-"

"William Arthur Weasley, shut your bloody mouth." It was a pure shriek and he shut it automatically, "Check your bond before you open it again. Nobody in their right mind would believe she left you." She softened back into a Mum, "Just calm down, honey."

He reached down what tied them, her end absolutely consumed with hurt and desperation. Godric, he'd hurt her, she was all upset. Bad Bill. Logic, Bill, logic, the marriage certificate had said unbreakable. The primal side roared that words on a page meant nothing and she needed to be hunted down, brought home, a tower built and her locked away in it.

The door opened again and there she was. He choked it out, the man hanging on, "Run."

"Bill-"Hermione pleaded.

He clutched at the table, showing her the savagery he was trying to control. "Run."

She too fled and he tried not to breathe, he'd gotten a whiff of Harry on her. Someone else had touched his witch, had touched the claimed one he took for life. There was an easy solution to that. He had to breathe and the man abruptly lost, the moon's nasty pull digging into him. He took off after her, longer strides slamming faster than her short ones. Charlie had been right, it was Hermione who screamed in his dreams.

She screamed when he tackled her from behind having dodged her tossed stunners, flinging her wand from her, screamed as he ripped her over to face him. Tears blurred her eyes in fear, he needed the necklace on her. His hands wanted to wrap his hands around her neck and shake her, the man inside clawed back enough to hold on long enough, merely pinning her and breathing harsh, torn gasps of effort, his voice thrashing, breaking with wanting to know why and how could she? But the man was stronger than the wolf, he heard her words of love and her pleas to not hurt her and the man held control until he was smacked with two stunners.

* * *

"Alicia, do something!" Percy screamed at her as the breath was being squeezed out of him by a giant. Alicia, it seemed, was caught in a blind panic and was frozen, staring in horror. Percy tried for his wand, but he couldn't feel his hands, no circulation left there. He wasn't even sure if he had it anymore.

"Oh, I've got an idea." A non-panicked voice said as Percy was peered at very closely by an extremely large brown eye, a huge finger letting go of Oliver slightly to peck at his glasses in confusion. Suddenly there was a rather strange type of music and Percy found himself flung away from the eighteen foot lady so she could cover her ear. He smashed terribly hard into the ground, finding Alicia was finally mobile enough to rush over and try and help him up. Godric, his ribs had to be shattered. The little blonde Ravenclaw, Ginny's friend, was playing what seemed to be some form of flute was slowly backing away and Percy had a very stray thought as oxygen rushed back into his brain. He was going to marry that girl.

Another body hit beside him, cursing heavily in gaelic, it seemed she'd finally decided to toss Oliver away too. He was able to pull himself up, the giantess had seemed to like him significantly more than she'd liked Percy and not squeezed him at all. Oliver was who had drug him into this mess, getting himself held captive by a lady giant on a reconnaissance mission and only just having been able to send word to anyone. They'd thought he was dead for two days, not hanging out in a giant's hand.

Alicia abandoned him to try and help her love and Percy found himself with flute girl, she touched his hair soothingly and kept playing until Alicia and Oliver were gone. Her fingers twined into his curls and he felt the strong pull of side-along apparition. He groaned as they landed. He heard a small cry of pain next to him, she'd splinched herself. Inexplicably, she seemed pleased, "First time. I've never even made it into the hoop. Though that had bertle bugs."

He wasn't quite up for words, but managed to roll his broken body over to her and grab her wand, flinging it up for the accidental magic reversal squad. He hoped they were Order friendly, otherwise they were going to spend a long time in a cell. What would Bill or Charlie do with a hurt girl? He used his unbroken arm to pull her to him as she told him she thought she was missing her kidneys. "You can have one of mine."

As they laid there and waited they talked and Percy saw something not a lot of people got to. Underneath the odd comments there was a brilliant girl, a girl who spent her time in the library as he had, an incredibly sweet girl who was just waiting to be loved. Percy would later blame the soft brushing of lips on various things: trying to comfort her as her pain got worse and worse, a concussion, spending far too much time with Charlie, wrackspurts, something the twins had slipped him. Luna would not, she would blush slightly if asked and not blame her first kiss on a single mythical creature.

* * *

When Bill woke it was into a nightmare. It was into a reality of shame and horror at his actions, to a self disgust so strong he didn't think he should exist. It was to Remus Lupin, sitting next to him looking grave. "How bad did I hurt her?"

"You didn't, she was just shaken. She put her jewelry on, took a calming draught and left." Remus' voice was clipped as he passed over a sheet of paper. "Bill, how in control are you?"

Bill was starting to rip open the note, but Remus grabbed his wrist, "Bill?"

"I've got it now." He responded, very much not wanting to hear the next words, his spine tensing.

Remus went determinedly on. "Your father is dead. He and the twins got badly outnumbered in Wales and he threw his protego at them, telling them to go. The curse rebounded onto him."

Bill didn't say anything, he was enveloped in disbelief and a coldness. Deep breath, smash of sadness, deep breath, slip back into crisis management mode, there would be time to grieve later. He stood up, information now, breathe it in and prioritize. "The twins?"

"They'll live, Fred's getting his guts shoved back in, George is fine. Molly hasn't said a word." Remus was eyeing him.

"Take me to Mum then. Everyone else alright?" The twins would take care of each other. A pause, "The body?"

"Percy and Hestia are getting him." Remus told him, leading him out of the room and to his completely blank looking mother. No tears, no hysterics, just the shock that ran so deep you didn't even shake. It would come. Charlie was with her, terribly pale, but strong at her side. They would carry this, would carry the family through the next few days and handle it themselves later.

"Ron and Ginny?" It was a quiet order.

"Messages have been sent. Ron's on his way." Remus said quietly. "No response from Ginny yet, I got a non-transmission on the last try."

"She's probably too distraught at the moment." Bill theorized, "I imagine Robinson will bring her along once she's less hysterical. I need a wand, burnt mine."

A stray thought, he really hoped he hadn't burned down the house. It didn't matter, there were more important things right now. He needed to make arrangements, prioritize, prioritize. "Charlie, you ok here? I've got to go redo the wards everywhere Dad-"

"Yes." Charlie cut him off before he could say "was", was anything, was Secret-Keeper.

Remus' voice was steely, "I'll help."

Bill nodded, "Some are blood wards, so I'll have to take those."

They'd run into Hermione, Harry and Ron rushing in with Griphook. They would freeze at seeing him digging around in the spare wand jar.

It didn't matter, "Ron go to Mum, Harry check on the twins. I've got to go redo the wards."

Her voice would be so tentative, so aching, "Bill, take mine."

Her hand that held it out trembled, he took it gingerly, testing down the bond. She blamed herself, he blamed himself. It could wait. "Thanks." What to say? He wouldn't judge her a bit if she left him for good now, he'd scared her and himself. She didn't seem to be hurt, no bruises that he could see, but those could have been healed. He tried for tender and knew he just still sounded like he was in charge, even as his hand hovered at touching her cheek, too coward to do it. "We'll talk later, ok?"

She nodded, hand darting out to squeeze his quickly. "Be safe."

"You too, love." He squeezed back and left, creating lists and lists in his head: where he needed to go, who needed to do what, prioritizing which siblings would need the most comfort, who needed to be notified, who possibly could cover the shifts. Lists and lists to block out reality. Lists to block out the night the lights went out in the Burrow.

* * *

A/N: Welp, there's where we're at. Thoughts?


	27. Candlelight

A/N: I'm very thankful for all of the feedback, reviews, favorites, follows! Rather a diary focused chapter, but I promise all the pieces and little easter eggs do come together! If you're a Charlie fan and want to see his side adventures in his quest for love, head over to his story 'Untamed' set in this universe, don't be surprised if he mucks it up a few times. Anyways onwards we go as we're in the final days.

* * *

Candlelight

"Ginny?! Ginny?!" She could hear his panicked yells and pulled her knees up to her chest in her little damp prison, she was sitting in her basilisk's jaw and dropped the bloody tooth she was holding. He saw her and a look of pure relief washed over him as he jogged the length of the dank chamber and part of her brain thought it stupid of him to lower his wand.

"Go away." She called, hugging herself closer, the back of her mind hissing in outrage that a filthy mudblood was in the Chamber of Secrets and was not in fact dead.

"No. You've got to talk to me, Ginny." Ralph reached into his pocket in explanation flicked the horrible little diary up in one hand. She froze and the blood rushed out of her, she looked away from it, standing and walking to try and get farther from it. He followed her. "This is why you left me?"

She nodded mutely, letting him pull her into his overwhelming embrace, the relief in magic like a blanket around her. "It's going to be okay, sweetheart."

She shook her face into his chest, but didn't say anything. He rubbed her back and she could feel him looking at her, at the torn and bloody dress, at the hair in wild tangles from where she'd pulled at it, "Godric, you're a mess. You're freezing."

She swallowed, some of her courage coming back at the warmth there, he was so warm like the sun, she was still broken though, caught in a winter storm. Her voice only had jagged shards. "It's not going to be okay. You don't know what it was like."

He kept rubbing, trying to warm her. "Not from your side, the sick bastard dropped me into a few of his memories of what he did to you."

" _You wrote in it?!"_ It was a horrified hiss as she pulled away and looked up at him, " _Are you insane?"_

"I was ticked, might have completely flown off the handle. Mainly wrote a lot of insults and threats."

Her legs felt weak, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? You can't just…. Oh Godric, you idiot, that's why he was so furious. That's why he made me-" She cut herself off, nobody needed to know all of the terribleness that laid between her and Tom Marvolo Riddle.

He gave her a gentle shake, concern and worry coating his tones. "Made you what, Ginny?"

She pulled back and not wanting to look at him, she showed him her left forearm. Death Eaters had a mark, Hermione had mudblood and now one forearm was bloodily branded _Blood Traitor_. His breath went in, voice choked, "Godric, I'm so sorry. So, so sorry. Let me get that cleaned and healed up."

"He wanted me to carve the dark mark." She tried to reason, she had won that battle. He'd been distracted by something else and not noticed what she'd cut into herself, just kept making her brain feel like it was on fire until the knife was in her skin. It would scar she knew, the dried saliva on the basilisk fang far too potent to not leave a mark. "I can do it. You should go, before he makes me hurt you too."

"No. I'm not going anywhere, we're going-"

She shook her head, "You don't understand-"

"Listen to me, Gin. I'm not going anywhere. If you're with me you can't hurt yourself or anyone else." It was accompanied by a soft yank back into his arms.

"That's not how it works." She yelled it at him, spit landing on his shirt.

"It's just like being chaperoned." He insisted right back just as stubbornly and his wand waved. "There. It's done. Proximity charm."

"Ralph Robinson, you can't just-" She protested hotly, the sagging relief following weakly after. She wasn't alone, he wouldn't let her do anything.

"Already did. Now let's get out of here, this place is creepy as hell." He was glancing around constantly, trying to peer only through the puddles that littered the floor.

"It is hell. My hell." She shook her head at him and sat down, "You're too full throttle for your own good sometimes."

"Got that one from my Mum, huh? Look, sweetheart, it's not exactly what you got before, ok? The diary you were given had a sister diary where everything was just recorded and it's been turned into sort of a two way journal."

"Bill and Charlie used to have those." She said dumbly, calming down slightly, her brain it seemed had also been turned into a two way journal. He squeezed her hand again trying to make her smile, "Extremely polite though, isn't he?"

Ginny gave another dumb nod, wishing she could process better at the moment and he went on shaking his head, "Asked if I minded if he borrowed some of my insults, found them cuttingly creative. Glad I didn't tell him he could hear better ones if he spent a month on a dragon reserve."

"Godric, how long did you write in it?" She wanted to put her face in her hands. She'd left him to keep him safe and in the span of a few hours he'd managed to get himself a giant target on his back anyway by personally insulting the Dark Lord.

"Longer than I should have, you weren't answering any of my messages and I was running around trying to find you while he taunted me with clues." His eyes were searching hers, but she didn't have anything to be seen except fog. "Why don't we start with having Angus flame it? Then we'll handle the other problem." He squeezed her hand, trying for any reaction and paused, "Where are your shoes?"

"I threw them at Tom." She stared at the diary, such an innocuous looking little thing, how could 200 pages of parchment and a leather binding have shifted her life so dramatically? The part when she'd seen him was particularly murky in her mind, her words drifted out as she tried to focus on remembering. "I'm afraid to go to sleep. Afraid to dream, what if he truly comes back into my brain again? That's how it really started before."

He took a deep breath and touched her arm, "Let's get you patched up, dry and warm." He picked her up, lopping her into warm arms that didn't falter when she didn't wrap her own around him for steadiness.

She glanced back, not wanting to go, not wanting to feel soothed, but feeling it all the same. She hated being ordered about, but right now it was easiest to hand over the reins, to let someone else handle the horror her life had become. She couldn't think, wouldn't be able to sleep, her hours blurry with anxiety and hissing. There were thoughts, but she had spent her day so anxious and overwhelmed everything was in strange chunks that didn't make a lot of sense since reality had been too much to handle in it's entirety. Silently, she dug out first one wand then the other and surrendered them to him, without wands she couldn't commit atrocious acts. She wouldn't hurt anyone if she didn't have them. He took them without comment, merely a squeeze of her. She tried again, "I'm fine now, put me down."

"No. Gin, you've got to let us help and I'm sure as hell not leaving you down here staring at the spot you almost died. Nobody wins wars alone."

"Harry-" She started, wanting out of the arms that offered some illusion of safety.

"-Would be the first to tell you that. Poor sod has to probably cross the final wand, but he sure hasn't gotten there all alone."

"I'll just come back. He'll make me." She protested weakly, this was where she belonged, down here with her basilisk. "How did you even get in?"

"No, because I refuse to come back and you can't be more than a few meters from me now." He was resolute. "Into the chamber? Just asked some girl where it supposedly was and summoned a snake." A part of her flared, Tom had figured out she was with him, and she felt a flare of wanting to hurt him as he stepped through the blown out rubble of the passageway.

"I'm still not dating you again." She snapped it at him, hating the situation, hating that he was able to think logically at the moment while she just wanted to throw up from the anxiety, wanted to drown out the terrible hissing sliding across her brain with its ugly whispers.

"We'll talk about that later, sweetheart." His voice was tight and his jaw clenched, a pause as he got them back into the bathroom, "I'm sure you'll be kept at headquarters once I take you, probably tied to your Mum."

"Not you?" She asked, trying not to beg, why was everything so foggy and contrary in her mind? She wanted to hurt him, wanted nothing but to be held.

"Doubt it." He set her on the counter and pulled her arm out, cleaning it manually and with magic, words tense and more to himself than her, "Not unless I really have to do it. Then…."

"Do what? Then what?" She asked after he trailed off and he didn't answer her, focusing on the cut for what seemed like a long time. She started to drift again, the hissing in her mind distracting.

 _You should teach him some manners. He's very crass, isn't he?_

 _Leave Rob out of this._ She really should stop talking to Him, but he wouldn't shut up for more than a few minutes at a time.

"Rob!" She demanded aloud through the hissing words, knowing this was important. A stinging at the back of her mind made her correct herself at the soft private name. No reason to give him hope. No reason to use the only syllable of his name she'd been able to manage against his lips when two hearts realized they were in sync during a frantic kissing session on the back of a dragon. Her correction was harsh, "Ralph Robinson you tell me!"

She got a kiss to her forehead at the name that only existed between them, but he looked at her for a long time and didn't answer. A swish of a drying charm that didn't seem to affect the cold dampness clinging to her. He pulled his shirt off and tucked it over her. It smelled like him, the dry warmth covering her. "Let's get you out of here. Are you hurt anywhere else that needs urgent attention?"

She glanced down at herself, trying to feel, she felt sore everywhere. What on earth had she been doing in the blurry chunks? "I don't know. Do you think that was my blood or someone else's?"

"Don't worry about it, Gin. Even if it is it'll wash off." It hit her even through the fog that he wasn't being nonchalant, he simply didn't care if she'd just slaughtered an entire town. To him she was just Ginny, his Ginny. She wanted to be plain old Ginny again, not Ginny with a dose of missing, hissing hours. Her mind cleared slightly and she used her good hand to pull his face close, to drown herself in something that the hissing in her mind couldn't understand.

She had no idea how long they'd stayed like that and felt him rush a bit into her, felt what it always been around him, why she'd followed him as a child, why he'd let her, why his kisses had been _more_. It was magic brushing at the edges, his warmth enveloping her with a steadying strength and her shaken coldness greedily grabbing at it. She leaned her head against the hollow of his neck and had her first clear thought in hours. "I don't feel murderous anymore. I wanted to strangle you."

"Brilliant." She was given a soft squeeze and when he tried to pull away she refused, holding on. She slid her hands up the back of his thin undershirt, seeking more comfort and a respite from the confusion.

The second thought came, she had to push him away. Hadn't she been told to? Wasn't that best for him? She didn't want to, a confession slipped out. "He calls me Persephone."

He was stroking her hair, his words attempting comfort, but coming off drenched in heaviness. "It's not winter, sweetheart. You get to stay up in the light where you belong."

She knew he wanted to put his pin back in her hair and all she wanted was his lips again. The kiss had been a desperate mistake. She couldn't be his Beltane witch, couldn't dance around the harvest fires laughing and let him pull the May crown from her hair as they stole heady kisses at the end of the night, couldn't carry his runes. For she carried another's. She had let ink stain her fingers and lead her to the underground. Hadn't she gone back there each year at school, telling herself it was just to make sure it was all over? Hadn't she stared at her basilisk's bones and wondered what truly went on in the missing 93 hours of her life? She tried to calm herself, still mostly incoherent because guilty anxiety kept bubbling up. "She was my basilisk more than Tom's, you know. When I realized it was me I went down and told her not to kill anyone, to just eat from the lake. It was because I talked to her, she had been very lonely. I couldn't completely stop her, she very much enjoyed petrifying people and sneaking up on them." She smiled into his chest a little madly, it had been a small victory, a tiny defiance. She could do that again, drench herself in defiance, the gentle arms around her would help. "Took Tom ages to figure out why his giant, starving, murderous snake wasn't just killing people left and right. There's an egg down there too."

"That was very good of you, Ginny. C'mon, be a little koala." A kiss to her forehead, "You've already got a dragon, let's not have a pet that wants to kill me." He was trying to urge her to go somewhere else, but she didn't want to. She didn't want these last moments to end and be dropped off to headquarters like a problem to be dealt with. She dug her nails slightly into his back to still him. She wanted a few more moments of this mercurial man who was both decidedly untamed yet so steady, rather rough and touchingly tender with her. She wanted to bury herself in his layers and get to find the balance between what she would love and what would exasperate her. She wasn't going to get that, none of the gentle changes as love grew and settled. She didn't want the inevitability of coming back to herself and realizing she'd taken his life, the devastating aftermath of what would be left of her soul. She didn't want the ugly flat hissing at the back of her mind, the ordering about, the charming veneer that had lured her all of those years ago simply for gain, didn't want the handsomeness of a perfect face that would hide a devil inside her dreams tonight. Yet that was inescapable, that was what she had.

"I'll let you open presents." He cajoled softly. "Whichever ones you want."

Anxiety was bubbling up again, depression beginning to whirl and causing her mouth to ramble. "Of course then he made me go down there to be the first victim. His victim so he'd be able to control her. Stupid, boring, little Ginny that nobody was going to miss, her brothers only teased her and her roommates avoided her because of the nightmares. So she wrote and she wrote and-"

"She wrote me." He said firmly, tipping her chin up his lips brushing hers sweetly, before just picking her up. How was this fair? She'd had the diary nine months and written Ralph for so much longer, had poured fears and questions into those letters just the same, far more so than she'd done with her diary.

"Why did you write me back? It must have been boring getting letters from a little girl." She'd never asked him, just taken it for granted that he did. Maybe he'd still write her when she was in Hell, maybe that would be allowed.

He gave her a slightly sheepish grin as she obediently wrapped her legs around him, "Well back when you were my little princess you taught me magical customs. I'd encounter something that didn't make any sense because I was muggleborn and learned pretty quickly asking Charlie would just end up with him loudly asking 'What do you mean you don't know that?' and everyone would stare at me like I was an idiot. So I'd write my little Ginny and ask if she'd learned about whatever it was yet. Lo and behold, I would get a chatty little letter back telling me everything she knew." He brushed her hair over her shoulder gently, voice softening. "It would help me not make a complete jackass out of myself."

He stopped walking suddenly and while she drifted through memories of excitement at getting a letter from him. How if she didn't know she'd immediately ask, how Mum would correct her handwriting and spelling and make her rewrite and rewrite her letters to him. Perhaps that was when she'd fallen in love with the quill, the letters and letters she wrote to everyone, the stories from her mind that settled into swipes of ink. Ron had never taken to it, hadn't fallen victim to the potent smells of ink and parchment as she had.

"Dumbledore." He said it abruptly, the match finally catching the spark. His voice's sudden urgency pulling her from the soft recollection of her and Ron's little table at the Burrow, "Of course, of course. Ginny, did you keep any of our letters?"

She nodded dumbly, "Most of them I think." She blushed lightly, "There's a box under my bed at the Burrow just for you."

"Can the bastard read your thoughts?" His chest against her face tensed.

She rubbed it with her cheek undecidedly, she really hoped he didn't want them. The box was covered in glitter hearts. "Not sure or if it's just conversations in my head. Last time he couldn't, just what I told him."

Ralph nodded to himself, "Let's get home, be quiet in the hallways, can't get caught again."

"I don't want to be tied to Mum." She muttered it, she loved her mother, but would go completely mad if she had to be only three meters from her while she worried endlessly.

"I'll take care of it." He squeezed her again. "With Bill and Charlie incoherent, technically I'm in charge of all things Ginny."

How she wished that was true. Ginny wasn't even in charge of all things Ginny. He glanced around as they left the bathroom and she stared at Professor Snape sprawled on the floor unconscious with Neville holding a wand at him. "Thanks, man. Scamper off and I'll send a message to Poppy that she's got a patient." A glance, "Nice hex work."

He winked at her, "I cold clocked him, didn't have time to stand around being insulted. Took him completely off guard."

His grin was slightly proud and she felt a tiny twinge of outrage at the back of her mind as her thoughts accidentally brushed that part of her brain. Go away. Since it had worked before she kissed him again, it was a hard kiss, telling herself that it was very well deserved, everyone had wanted to hit the greasy git with their caldron at some point in potions. She could make sure they didn't stay involved, but maybe tonight she needed him. She'd be noble and brave tomorrow, but right now she was clingy and scared. Tomorrow she wouldn't be this weak, she'd be able to stand on her own two feet again. Tomorrow she would figure out how to be just Ginny again. Tonight she would take the comfort he offered, the same way she had memorized the first letter he'd written after finding out about what happened. How it was okay, how everyone needs rescuing once in awhile. Tonight strident, brash, Ginny Weasley would allow herself to be vulnerable and confused.

* * *

Hermione was clutching her now cold cup of mint tea, waiting for Bill to be back. Charlie drifting in and out of the kitchen as he checked on various family members, before dropping down next to her. She made him tea, unsure what to do with herself. She was involved and yet entirely separate from the depths of her second family's grief. Charlie gave her a cataloging look, "Any news from Ginny?"

Hermione shook her head, "You know how private she is about emotions. Go rest, Charlie, you've had a long day."

He shook his head, "Super Charlie got the extra energy boosts and I'm still waiting for Mum to lose it over a pair of socks or something." He fidgeted, "Mum cries over everything, she needs to do it over this."

There was a knock at the door and Charlie beat her to it, seeing Bill carrying something over his shoulder. He drew his wand, "Bill, what did we do for Dad for his 40th birthday?"

"Built a telegraph line from the house to the shed."

Charlie pulled the door open and they both froze, Bill had someone over one shoulder and a bag of stuff over the other. Bill looked as if he'd been rolling around in the hay. "Dung. He looks like he's been trampled and the barn is empty."

Hermione stopped him from slinging him onto the meal table, "Not on the table, Bill. Put him over here."

Bill put him down on the counter and turned away, Hermione moved closer, to take a look. She paused, "Bill, give me the wand."

He passed it over, dropping into a conversation with Charlie about how everyone was doing. She pointed it at Mundungus and tried to enervate him. He groaned, "Blimey."

Bill jumped, startled and turned around. "Dung?! I thought you were dead."

Dung groaned, "'Appens when I've had too much."

It would take a while to sort him out and get him settled. Hermione would urge Charlie to lay down, to sit and be refused, he wanted to go check on the dragons. Finally it would be just the two of them near dawn, all buffers gone and a chasm of a canyon between them. She tried for normal, plaiting her hair and folding her sweater, there were so many other things than their marriage that were looming. Bill looked exhausted, heavier than even when he was lying there wracked with pain in the Hogwarts hospital wing. "Do you mind running Headquarters today? Mum will need rest and I've got to pull the particulars and start sorting out what else we-"

Bill cut himself off and took a deep breath, letting silence fall around them. It enveloped the room and he stopped unfolding the spare couch bed. It was dark and heavy in the room, sadness and regret shrouding the lamps, desolation blocking the cheeriness of the family photos. He sat down heavily, his words carefully modulated. "You didn't leave."

"I'm not going to." She sat down next to him, leaving enough distance between them that they weren't touching, but she could feel his body heat.

He traced a hand down his scars before settling it in his lap and staring at his hands, voice even more sombre. "If I asked you to, would you leave me? For real?"

She shook her head, "No, I love you. That's not a real option and I think you know that. What sort of life would that be for either of us? Married, bonded, claimed and apart? We'd be miserable."

"But it would be a life for you. I wouldn't be able to hurt you." He said just as softly, "You could have another relationship and-"

"No, Bill. I don't want another relationship." She felt sick at the thought. Bill had been the pinnacle of a man since she laid eyes on him, the flawed man that showed her love wasn't perfect and she refused to let him be her ghost too.

"Hermione-" He started, she shook her head, trying to push down the sudden rush of tears in her eyes.

"How could you ask that? Want that?" She felt herself tremble down the bond, riotous emotions shoving between them. "You claimed me, Bill. Anything but this is off the table for me, you showed that tonight. You want me to be stuck alone and miserable for the rest of my life? Have to feel you with your next partners. That would be torture." She hugged herself, they should be talking about everything else. Talking about his father, talking about what it meant now that he was head of the family and had everything on his shoulders. They weren't.

"I can remove the claim." He looked away, his distressed anger and self-loathing pouring down to her, "There wouldn't be anyone else for me, love."

She shook her head, "With how much you wanted it last moon I doubt that. If I ask you to let me in, to really let me in with all of this, can you? That's the real problem here, Bill, you've only given me pieces of information. If you'd told me what the necklace really did, what would happen if I took it off none of that would have happened. With all of this, are you just going to keep leaving me in the dark until I mess up?" Guilt, so much guilt at the hurt she'd inadvertently caused, his hurt, and from what she'd gathered rather a lot of destruction at their home. There was so much she didn't know, she might be the brightest witch of her age when it came to facts, but the wizarding world still had such an oral tradition that she was so out of depth.

"I don't have all of the answers, Hermione. I didn't know what would really happen, this is new for me too. There was no girl before and there's no real research on my state or on what I've done to Charlie." He wasn't mad, just sadly apologetic a hand hovering over the tears running down her face, not touching. "I don't want to end up hurting you. I can't do that."

"You didn't-" She protested, yes he'd scared her, badly, but once he'd seen her fear it had been achingly obvious he wasn't going to hurt her. He was far more likely to simply break things, she wondered what he'd heard when she'd begged him not to hurt himself, because deep in the bond she had been having trouble keeping track of who was who and who was battling the wolf inside him. The rush of focus on the need to protect, not hurt and that she still had that slim tartan fabric bound to her wrist. They'd both been so scared for the other, fear reverberating between them, wrath winding and coiling, hurt battering the edges of what they were at their core.

"But what if I do?" He was moving closer into anguish, "What happens when we have kids? What happens if someone else hurts you?"

"Well for the last one, what you did to Greyback." She reached out for his hands, taking them in her own and squeezing, strangely thankful for the brutality that had ended her fear of the man. "Why don't we do this as a team? Charlie and us, we'll test different things out for the moon."

"I don't want you there at all." He started. "It's unsafe."

"I think you might just come find me." She sighed, she was tentative about what she'd seen he wanted, but needed to be there. She knew that in her bones. "If you're worried about the bedroom aspect, have you tried wolfsbane?"

"I've never needed it, I don't even know if it would have any effect." He paused, "Though it does allow Remus to keep his personality and just go to sleep or watch movies, but on someone who doesn't transform I don't know."

She squeezed his hands again, trying to summon courage. "I'm willing to try some of what you want, with the necklace on you can't be as rough as it looked in your dreams."

He pulled her tentatively into his arms, checking her reaction. He kissed her temple, "Thank you, but it's entirely up to you, I'll manage. Love, you need to feel comfortable and get pleasure out of it too. I don't ever want our love life to be just about what the wolfish side of me wants, not even one night a month. I know some of it is close to what Greyback threatened, we'll avoid that, ok? We'll have a big frank discussion about anything ahead of time."

She kissed where his neck joined his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him, floating love and acceptance up at him, feeling his responding love and hope slip down. "We can make you another moon poster."

"I'm still going to take the claim off." He kissed her hair, "I think I need to, Charlie kept saying you were a little bit his now. He could smell it."

Yes, Charlie had repeatedly yelled 'All Charlie, all the time' until her very wayward and completely obliterated husband had punched him in the face. She opened her mouth to protest, but he pulled her closer, "We can redo it later, but right now we can't risk me losing it in a crazy jealous fit, love. Or Charlie trying to act on feeling the claim either."

She forced a smile into his chest, she loved Bill, despite all of these things he couldn't help. "We'll make Charlie a poster too."

"Charlie hates posters from sharing a room with Percy and I." He smiled into her hair, they were going to be alright, it would take work, but they would. She smiled back into him, genuinely this time, before pulling back and tilting her head up for a kiss. It was tentative and extremely gentle, none of the harsh passion that had so scared her on their beach, this was the softness that existed at the very beginning for them and would exist until the very end. This was not Bill the struggling lycanthrope and Hermione the girl who was still healing. This was the kind man who'd humored a school girl's crush with gentle compassion from the moment she'd met him and the brave women that was strong enough for their journey.

* * *

Charlie eased his way into the bedroom, raising an eyebrow at scene, Ralph looked as if he'd gotten the same amount of sleep Charlie had. Zero. Ginny was asleep, imitating a little octopus, sprawled mostly on him, clutching at him as if he was the only thing keeping her on earth. He kept his voice quiet, dropping down on the edge of the bed, "Hey. Why are you bloody?"

"She attacked me at one point. It's complicated." Equally as soft.

Charlie raised an eyebrow, "Better be, Muriel said if I found her here I should immediately chop off your finger or march you two to the nearest chapel."

He untangled one of his hands and pointed at a little black book on the bedside table, "Ginny got another diary from hell."

Charlie stared at it in horror and got a grimace in return, "She found out about," he mouthed the next words, " _your dad_ in a dream. He was going to bring him to her as some sort of present. Please tell me it was just a dream."

Charlie managed to shake his head, he didn't even have curse words for how angry and sick that made him feel, for the nauseated dragon fire that was his insides. That was why Percy and Hestia had come back empty handed, why the twins were unconsolable guilty wrecks. Ralph just gave a dreary nod and stroked her hair as she shifted and mumbled, "I'm truly sorry, Charlie. By the time I got her out of the nightmare she was clawing me, cursing, blaming me for it."

"Ralph-" Charlie started to tell him nobody blamed him.

"I know. It's not her, C, it's the hissing." He sighed, undoing his fingers from her hair to rub his face, voice quieter. "At least twining our magic turns You-Know-Who off."

"He doesn't get love, only obsession." Ginny's voice was raspy, her eyes slowly opening. She looked exhausted, huge dark circles under her eyes as she nuzzled into him. "Hey Charlie."

She leaned up for a kiss and was given a tiny one, "Sweetheart, slip off."

"No." She seemed to be trying to either make them into one person or smother him.

"Gin, I've had to take a piss for hours." Desperation as he pried her off and bolted for the bathroom, her following, "No! You're not going in with me."

"I'll just press my face into your back. I won't see-"

"C!" Charlie felt the first slight tinge of amusement since he'd gotten the news about Dad, amusement even through his horror at this next terrible turn of events. He grabbed his little sister, turning her into a bear hug and the bathroom door slammed shut.

"We'll get through this, Ginny." He told her, needing to believe it himself.

"How? How without Dad? What's Mum-" She muttered, squeezing him back.

"Mum's doing fine." He soothed, "Not great, but she's managing, got up and made everyone breakfast like usual. Or tried to anyway, kept burning things when she got distracted. Mum and Dad talked about this a lot, talked about it with Bill and I too." He pulled her back enough to look at her. "They knew what they signed up for. Dad wrote us all letters, just in case." A squeeze, "Yours is at Muriel's, Mum's very anxious over you."

A shower had started and he squeezed her, felt a few tears slip against his chest at the ache she felt, the ache he felt. He finally let a few slip out himself, dripping hot into her hair. He was tired, the twins and Percy were all so consumed with guilt, Ron mainly bewildered and Bill had way too much going on to feel anything yet. Charlie and Ginny were alike though, there would be few tears and more anger, far more burning anger than the others. They'd swallow it down, redirect the fire at a target and there were a lot of targets. It was more than Dad, more than what happened to Bill and George, more than what was going on with Ginny. It just needed to be over, he didn't want to have to read another letter like that. Another letter that said goodbye, I love you, I admire who you grew into, please listen to all of my advice you were too stubborn to before, take care of Bill, take care of Ginny, please figure out the how the tv shows things and finally write that book on how calming witches is like taming dragons, just publish it under a pseudonym so Mum doesn't kill you. Please go on living. Please keep on fighting.

He'd read Ginny's too, debating on bringing it before deciding she'd need Mum near. Ginny's voice was taking on a vague quality as her tears ended, "Charlie, what's the address here? I need to know."

"Ginny…" Charlie started in concern really wishing Ralph had bothered to tell him what the hell was going on, "Are you going to tell someone?"

She seemed to struggle, hands going into fists, her nails cutting into her, before she flung out of his arms and was through the bathroom door in a flash. Charlie hit the towel with a sticking charm and let her cling to Ralph, leaning against the door frame. "So, are you two latched or something?"

Ralph shook his head and kept brushing his teeth, his words unintelligible as he squeezed her. He spit and tried again, " Ginny and I haven't gotten to suss it out, but I think it's more base than that." He rinsed and handed Ginny the toothbrush who gave him a strange look in return, "It's not like I have a spare. Brush your teeth or not, Gin." He tried to get away and Charlie could tell her nails were digging into him, "Do you think we can take her to headquarters? Too much she might overhear."

Charlie thoughts were whirling, he needed coffee and a pepper up potion, "The dragon tent should be fine."

He started to shuffle out of the bathroom, before giving Charlie a pleading look. "Calm Minerva down, will you? She's already sent me a scathing letter."

"You're explaining everything." Charlie demanded, no leeway for any sort of wiggle room. He had no idea where Ginny had been, why he'd only gotten a message this morning that the he'd put the flat under a Fidelius and instructions to get in. The only thing he had was trust that there was some sort of reason.

Ralph sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, just need to make a few stops first. Ginny, you're going to go with Charlie."

"No." She was adamant, pleading and somehow intimidating barefoot and just in one of Ralph's rugby shirts. Charlie had the stray thought that if he brought her to Muriel's like that, a lot more than a finger would be lost.

Ralph didn't even grimace, just nudged her in the bathroom and shut the door. "Yes, wash up."

Once he was dressed he headed with Charlie towards the door, voice dropping towards a whisper as he gave Charlie a rough, comforting hug. Charlie hugged back, longer than was probably manly, but he didn't really care. This was him getting comfort, not having to give it, he let go. Ralph squeezed his shoulder, "I'm not too sure what's going on yet, but I've got some ugly suspicions from what Mrs. Malfoy said and what Gin was saying in her sleep." A sigh, "Take the damn book and ward it separately, don't freaking write in it."

Well, bloody hell, this was just getting better and better. Charlie really hoped he woke up soon, all the same he turned around and went and grabbed the innocuous looking book. "R, wait."

He paused and Charlie swallowed, dropping the bombshell he'd not wanted to mention in front of Ginny. "I tried your family's house first."

"Did you find any bodies?" He cut him off and Charlie felt startled.

"No, but that doesn't mean-"

"Excellent." Ralph cut him off, gave him a tired, relieved grimace. "While I was flying off the handle and was insulting You-Know-Who himself my brother called and I had enough sense left to have him and Holly evacuate everyone."

"Where are they?" So that's why she didn't check in, that was a relief. Thank goodness for small favors.

"Should be on a plane to-" He stopped, seeing Ginny peeking out. "You can pull everyone who was on her rotation, remind me I'm supposed to resign at the Prophet for her."

"I'm going with you." Ginny was sneaking towards them.

"No, Gin. You need to be with family right now and I'll be over as soon as I can. Charlie will protect you." It was firm and she didn't care, coming over to him and grabbing his waist.

"No, because I'll hurt them. He was talking to me when Charlie was hugging me. Tom doesn't talk to me when I'm with you, not really. You make him go away." Ginny sounded incredibly anxious, but determined.

They both looked at her for a long moment, this was not the fierce Ginny Weasley and Charlie wondered if this was how she'd been during her first year. Ralph made eye contact with him. "C, go dig through those presents in the closet until you find the little green one."

Charlie took his time, shaking some of the terribly wrapped presents, ignoring the soft murmured words of strength and the sounds of affection. When he came out they pulled apart and Ginny looked more like herself, grabbing the present immediately. She shredded it and eyed the necklace curiously. Ralph took it from her and slipped it around her neck, tucking it under her hair. "Fira's flute. I'll ask her to go to you once she's given me a lift, if you start to get murderous again she'll be able to come get me in a flash." He glanced over at Charlie, "If Gin starts saying weird stuff, tries to get away or attacks, play it. I'll switch the proximity charm to you."

In the end Charlie would grab his clingy little sister, focus very hard before twisting and take her into the reality she had to face. While she read her letter, curled up against their mother, Charlie, uninhibited and terribly curious Charlie ignored the warnings and opened the thing. Words were waiting, suspended on the first page.

 _My sweet Ginevra, don't you want to see your father again? I'll bring him back for you. Yesterday you seemed dreadfully unhappy._

Bile rose in Charlie's throat and he started to shake in rage, Charlie grabbed a quill and was writing furiously in the little black book, only looking up at the repeated cries of his name, of what was going on, not realizing he had a litany of curses flowing from his mouth. Hermione was bending over him and peered, paling. Hermione cried out, looking wildly at the one brother who had any sort of control over him. She started yanking at him. "Bill, do something! Stop him. He's just going to get himself killed!"

Charlie's voice was serious, "I am doing something." Bill made to rip it away from him, he dodged him and Hermione, backing up from the table. "What? This is too fucking far. He can't-"

The diary flew from Charlie, summoned, the quill and ink flying after directly into his Mum's hands. She picked up the quill, ignoring her children's protests and gave them all a look they'd never quite seen. A voice they'd never heard no matter how much trouble they'd gotten into. "Why not? Our entire family is wanted, we're Headquarters and I'll be damned if I lose one more of you to this nonsense. First my brothers, now Arthur. He's not taking my children too. Now give me your best insults."

"Just call him Tommy, he'll have a breakdown." Ginny's voice had strength in it, her head still resting against Mum's shoulder.

"Probably a murderous one," Fred cut in, "Don't do that, Mum." Yet the quill had already scratched.

"No." Ginny said softly. "He'll go unhinged, but it will be at himself."

Charlie peered, "Jeez, Mum, you can never say a word to me about my language again." He kissed her head, "I'm impressed. You tell him!"

"Don't encourage her." Percy pleaded. "Whoever did the sticking charm, undo it."

There was a pause as the answer came, as Ginny pressed her face into her mother's shoulder, and now an equally enraged Mrs. Weasley turned to the freshly arrived Remus, "Remus, give me all of Arthur's shifts."

Nobody quite expected that when Molly Weasley put down her apron, picked up a quill and put her wand in heavy rotation just how scorched the earth could get.

* * *

Tonks glanced back out into the pit of desks from Kingsley's office, double checking Teddy was still there. He was, being cooed over by several other Aurors, she was here under the guise to show off her newest addition and to theoretically discuss coming back to work sooner than expected. "Due to the short staffing, Kingsley, are you sure you won't need me back sooner to help with all of the disturbances?"

"All shifts have been covered." Kingsley's slow deep voice soothed, parchment slipping across the desk to her. Good, he'd gotten the list of ongoing courtships, she'd have time to make it to all of the ones in danger of being nullified before the day was out. She took it. "We've had a very interesting time at the Ministry since you've been on leave, Auror Lupin."

"Oh, do tell! It's so hard to keep up with the changes with a new baby." She asked chattily, knowing they were being listened in on, she could feel the eyes at her back. The Aurors all knew they were Order, some themselves were and some merely sympathetic, it was the trainees that were the potential spies.

"Several new laws will be passing that you'll want to brush up on before returning to work, the Ministry feels that our most vulnerable population must be protected in these dark times. Unnatural attacks, both muggle and magical have increased dramatically on the daughters of the wizarding world." Well, that would be half of them being on the run, a hefty chunk of the Carrows and the rest letting people with a lack of humanity into power.

"It's a trend I've noticed myself." She said smoothly, "My dear friend Holly had to call for assistance after a very persistent vampire would not leave her alone."

Tonks was just going to neglect mentioning the assistance had been more for the vampire that now needed to stay at St. Mungo's for the rest of his immortal life, sipping his blood out of a little cup and straw. Kingsley's smile was slightly wicked as he passed over another sheaf of parchment, the law itself. "I'm not surprised. Now, do come back next week and we'll discuss when your maternity leave should end. I assume you'll have adequate child care and won't be using the on-site location?"

She popped up, "I do, my Mum will happily hang out with my little bug."

She collected Teddy and headed for the lift, spying an ally coming from the office of international relations as he headed for the lift. She waited for the Deputy Head, "Hey Rumble, want to see my baby?"

He looked down distractedly, "Bashing cute." His eyes spied the parchment in her hand, "That law? Dratted it is, I've got to go get a clause in, so don't bother reading that version."

"What clause?" She asked curiously.

He shook his head in irritation, "They can't go around canceling courtships or denying them for foreign wizards without international consent, imagine the headlines or the mess that could make with trade routes if those countries claim we're being prejudice?" Another head shake. "Nobody thinks these things through. Excellent catch of whoever sent the concerned owl."

He gave a guilty glance, a look over his shoulder as if he shouldn't have spoken out of turn and Tonks tried not to grin to herself. Well, they didn't have to worry about Ginny and Ralph having to rush off to Gretna Green then, not with the fact Ralph had held dual citizenship until they'd started rounding up muggleborns and ripped their status away. She needed to grab his file to double check. "Very true, I believe I've got several second cousins on the Black side who handle quite a bit of trade for the French side. We're a terribly temperamental family, telling one of them he couldn't marry his witch could very well cut the influx of gurdy cheese."

"Exactly!" Rumble said, nodding to himself. "Plus, then think of our wizards, what if they are subjected to the same sanctions? I'd have never been able to marry my wife. The international courtship was enough of a mess."

"I can only imagine. I'm glad Remus and I didn't go that route." Oh, the cleverness of Slytherins, picking just the right target to influence, this reeked of her aunt's meddling. Rumble hadn't even been married a year to his beautiful Moroccan wife, had jumped through hoops beyond hoops to even get a date.

"It was worth it." He gave her a grin that said he adored his prize. "Come over for tea sometime, she's still getting settled in to England and would love to see your baby."

"I'll owl her." Tonks promised, "Let me know if you need any backup on the law. I bet anyone else who's done the international courting would be on your side. I believe I heard a rumor that Umbridge has a potential German suitor and she's got a lot of sway."

Well, she hadn't heard exactly that, but maybe if Umbridge believed that she'd be helpful for once in her life. He looked disgusted, "Who's that? I'll ask her."

She mentally cursed herself, what was it Moody always said? Have the lie complete before you start talking. "I believe he was one of the Department Heads that was just here for the visit, my German counterpart had said he was trying to come up with an excuse for another cooperative summit. Found her dedication to rules admirable."

She'd apologize to Germany later, now she needed to get off to these couples. "This is us. Good luck!'

She headed out of the Atrium, unable to floo and unwilling to apparate with Teddy just having eaten. She was rather surprised when walking down the muggle street a woman in expensive clothes yelled her name, she was startled at who it was sitting on the cafe patio, even more surprised at her companion. "Merlin."

Mrs. Robinson seemed pleasantly surprised, "What a coincidence, Dora. Do you know Narcissa?"

"She's my aunt." Tonks brain was whirring, what was going on? "I didn't know you two were acquaintances."

"Oh, we weren't until today. I'm going to be guest of the Malfoy's now, stay with a wizarding family for a few days to help with the courtship! Ralph's apparently been doing a lot of things incorrectly."

Tonks sat down at the table, heavily. She looked at her aunt, whose face was cold, her voice tight, "Elena, do you mind getting Nymphadora a pastry and some tea while she settles the baby?"

There was agreement and she popped up to go back to the counter. Narcissa's voice cold, "She's a hostage, Travers grabbed her at some sort of muggle transportation place. The Dark Lord is very much hoping to lure her son or Ginny out."

Narcissa drew her wand, her face indicating this was a deliberate decision, a slight movement to attack her. Tonks understood, she'd have her mind pried open and could only hide so much. Tonks hit her with a non-verbal stunner to not alarm the muggles. "Mrs. Robinson, we need to go, now."

She came over, started trying to help Narcissa and Tonks grabbed her arm, dragging her into the alley and twisted, no longer caring about Teddy's stomach.

* * *

"Oh." It was all she could manage as she, Harry and Ron slipped from the wards to find themselves facing a horde of veelas. Fleur, no longer beautiful in her bloody, burned state was issuing orders. She gave them a glance, "Go get Molly."

Harry took off at a run and she and Ron moved forward, "How can we help? What happened?"

"Ze reserve was attacked." She pressed a hand to her stomach and bent slightly, then straightened. "Zey have no home now."

Ron paled at the rapid French flying around him, giving Hermione a look. "They want blood, don't they?"

Hermione nodded, they wanted a lot more than that. They wanted to rip apart the Death Eaters and werewolf pack that had descended upon them, the fight that had been going their way until uncontrollable fiend fire got thrown at them and the only option left was fleeing. "Ron, try and get Fleur to sit down."

It was fruitless, she was too determined, even as Molly came out and started giving the refugees access. Fleur's French was taut as they went under the wards after the rest, "Viktor's likely dead. He was with my husband trying to keep them at bay and I know Elian didn't-"

Hermione hugged her, not caring about the blood, not caring that once they had both loved the same man. Fleur was cold and stiff in her arms and she pulled back only to have Fleur burst into broken, gasping sobs, her weight dropping onto Hermione's smaller form and they sunk to the ground. Bill came, tried to pull Fleur up to have the baby checked, but her desperate desolation would draw a kindred soul, another widow whose heart had been smashed to pieces in the past twenty four hours. Molly Weasley, who very much disliked Fleur Delacour, would finally break, snottily sobbing into the younger woman's hair, offering no comfort and receiving none in return. They were bonded in nothing but sharp stabs of pain and the awful ache of grief that needed to pour out of them in a flood. It was enough.

Hermione left them to each other, left Bill hovering, unsure just what he should do since his mother had shoved him away. Eventually after settling and settling, countless pots of tea she found Harry again, tried to get him ready to leave. It had been decided that they and Ron needed to go, because they really didn't want Ginny accidentally passing any information on their whereabouts to the Dark side. Harry was trying to discreetly watch Ginny who was watching the dragons with Charlie, hugging herself.

"Harry, no!" Hermione tried in vain, already frustrated because he'd had that stubborn look on his face, slapping them both with illusion charms. Her words were a hiss, "Charlie said we needed to leave and-"

"Don't you care about Ginny?" It was a hiss back as they followed a slightly more tamed Ginny than the one Charlie had showed up with, she had pants now, but was looking more agitated and blotchy. They slipped into the tent behind the two, Harry motioning to the top bunk and internally rolling her eyes climbed up the ladder after him and slammed their little area with a silencing charm.

"Harry, we can't be here. You heard what she was saying." Hermione hissed, wishing she had Ron here to back her up, but he was with the twins.

"Ginny wasn't making any sense, asked Charlie to feed her to a dragon." Harry argued back, eyes glued to the distraught girl and Hermione sent up a soft request. Please don't let him smash his heart up over this again, he'd been doing so well, vaguely talking about how they should invite Luna back to stay at Shell under the guise of giving Mrs. Tonks a break with the baby. Hermione practically shrieked and fell into him when the bird appeared out of fire again in front of Ginny and Charlie, giving Charlie a soft nip in recognition before settling onto Ginny's lap.

"Is that a phoenix? No, it can't be, it's too big." Andromeda Tonks asked, peering curiously at the large bird that had been with Ginny almost all day. Ginny was petting the bird, looking supremely relieved that she was back and Charlie answered.

"Fira is half phoenix and half oozlum." Charlie scratched his eyebrow, "She's wild, but Ralph's the closest thing she's got to a familiar since he hatched her as a kid. Did you give him another ride, pretty girl? I know you think it's funny to scare people by just popping out like that."

The bird gave Charlie a song that sounded very much like giggles and Hermione turned to smile at Harry but he had a very sour look on his face and she sighed instead, knowing Harry was running internal comparisons. "It's just how they all have the magical creature thing, remember how we always had to go feed the blood swans with Ron at school? Because they'd been Charlie's? I read an extremely fascinating book from Charlie on how some witches and wizards have slightly different neurological wavelengths, which is how they can work with dragons and other sentient creatures. One of the big markers is the pets that find them when their children. Ginny's got her gnomes, Bill said Charlie just constantly was bringing home animals and we know Hagrid just loves monsters." She stopped talking, Harry clearly wasn't listening to a word she was saying and she could just make out Bill's voice.

"Oh hell, you can't phrase it like that, Ginny's in a really delicate state."

"Bill, I'm pretty sure there aren't words in the English language to sugar coat the situation. It's not like she isn't aware there's something wrong with hearing evil voices in her head." Ralph's baritone was carrying and one look showed Ginny had heard them, she got up and left the tent and Hermione could feel her heart beating unnaturally fast.

She swallowed, words thick and she tried to comfort herself and Harry. "We're not sure she's a horcrux yet, it could just be a connection because she had the diary so long from the research Bill and I read."

Harry was not comforted at all, eyes glued to the sliver of what he could see of what was happening outside the tent, "Name once, just once, where it turned out well."

Hermione was rarely stumped, but this was one of those times. She shifted and thought, most of the happy you had a horcrux cases ended with the maker's death. Charlie's sheer impatience saved her as they all came into the tent. "What's going on? Why did you want everyone I thought might know something about soul magic?"

Ralph dropped a glittery box and a sheaf of tied letters onto the table, "Narcissa Malfoy came to my flat and told me they think there's a chunk from the original diary still in Ginny, or that there's a connection. Ginny says when we're close it turns him off for awhile, I think Albus knew." He looked at her shyly, the curtness dropping away, "Charlie's always teased us about having a little special bond, and I think we might have been accidentally doing soul magic for years. I've been noticing how easy it is for our magic to twine up."

Ginny gave him a taut not quite smile, "I notice it too. I'm pretty sure I used to will you to wake up for gnome call. I'd think it and then I'd hear you get up and stumble yourself out towards the bathroom."

"Clarify on Albus. Then you're going to explain exactly why at two something in the morning you felt the need to partially destroy a chunk of the Forbidden Forest, flood a hallway, punch out Professor Snape when he caught you and Godric knows what else. The paintings have gone crazy with gossip and I want to know how you made it past the wards to begin with." McGonagall cut them off, still decidedly annoyed with him.

"Shit, must forgot to turn off the tap. Sorry about that."

"I was in the Chamber of Secrets, Tom wanted me to go to our spot." Ginny said softly.

Ralph pulled her against his shoulder ignoring the glare from McGonagall, "Anyway at Grimmauld I was talking to Dumbledore when Ginny came and mentioned she was pleased she wouldn't have to wait for me to write back. He asked me a lot of questions about how long we'd written, what we wrote about and then told me that he always found keeping his correspondences was very useful later on to realize just how little coincidence there was in the world and the mightiness of the pen. He then sent me several books on patronus magic and time charming that he thought I'd find interesting."

"He said Ginny would be completely fine after we got out of there." Harry said to Hermione.

"Well he might not have known it was a horcrux yet." Hermione reasoned gently, knowing Harry's feelings about the Headmaster were complex and hurt after the biography.

"What was interesting about them?" Flitwick pressed.

Ralph pulled a few of them out of the duffle bag at his feet and passed them over. "Patronus magic is one of the fundamental magics, tied down into your soul. If you've loved someone or been loved, you've probably done a little soul exchange according to Whitaker. That's why they can change or match, since everyone is a little bit jumbled up with everyone else."

Ginny looked thoughtful, "Harry's is his dad's animagus form, Sirius said down to the last detail and there was no way he could have known what Prongs looked like."

Hermione squeezed Harry's arm, his eyes were suspiciously shiny. "He really never left you, Harry."

Ginny clarified, "Ralph and I both have horses, different breeds, but still horses. I'd wondered about it after Tonks' changed for Remus."

"Ginny, why is You-Know-Who doing this to you?" It exploded out of Mrs. Weasley, still blotchy from her tear fest, her voice anguished as she stared at the diary in her hands.

Ginny tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and glanced at what her mother was holding, her voice holding a small amount of triumph. "Because the first time around I had power over him and that's something he can't stand. He had to talk about what I wanted to, when I wanted to and I'd punish him when he was cruel to me by not giving him information or writing to him at all. He was just stuck in there and had been for decades. He'd thought the diary would make him powerful and while it did, in many ways it made him powerless."

"You were his connection to the world." Charlie said quietly and threw his arm around her.

There was silence and Ginny's voice got completely wretched as she corrected him. "No, I was his entire world."

The silence in the room was complete, shaken and horrified as the simple words smashed around them forcing everything to be seen through a completely different perspective. Everyone had simply cared that Ginny knew it was just a little mistake any child could have made, nobody had really bothered to think of the other side. Except Ginny, who had lived through it, who'd written and written.

She took a shaky breath, "I truly think he regretted when it was time for me to go die, he'd planned on Christmas but kept putting it off, tried to come up with alternate ways I think. I would find the strangest advanced magic books in my dorm with notes in my handwriting." She looked at her mother in pure distress, unable to look at anyone else, "Yesterday, Tom told me that for part of his soul I am the only thing in the darkness."

Oh, Merlin. Bill had his holding it together look, Charlie 's wand seemed to be letting off little angry sparks and Hermione knew her nails digging into Harry had to be painful. Ginny had shared very little of what had truly happened to her, of what it had been like to be possessed, to write back and forth with the sixteen year old version of the Dark Lord, had only singularly talked about it when Harry thought he was being possessed. The silence stretched until it ached, stretched until it seemed permanent. McGonagall broke it, her voice collected. "Dumbledore held the view that Riddle named his snake Nagini after you."

Harry too seemed overwhelmed, "He made it sound like talking to Ginny had been the most boring and annoying thing on earth."

"Maybe annoying was better than nothing." Hermione said softly, "Or maybe he was still human enough when he made it to feel guilty and was trying to turn it off."

"Not from what Dumbledore showed me." Harry said, trying to keep the hurt from his voice over all that was happening. "This is all my fault, if I had just kept my mouth shut, none of this would be coming up now."

"No, Harry, it's not. Ginny will be fine." Hermione wasn't sure if she believed what she was saying about Ginny, but she believed deep in her bones Harry blamed far too much on himself. "You-Know-Who has always wanted to duel you, despite the fact he could have killed you outright. He has to win on his terms, we'll help Ginny let that not happen in her case too."

Flitwick finally looked up from the pages he'd been staring blankly at and bravely followed McGonagall's lead in the room beyond their little barrier. "This talks about great acts of love allowing you to undo soul damage."

"So just go do it or something, I'll hook you two up to the dragons. That should make it really out of hand and qualify as great." Charlie demanded, having regained his speech skills at another's and rather a large amount of anger.

"Not everything is about sex, Charlie." Ralph told him, gesturing at the letters. "I wasn't sure if there was a way to charm these into something like the anti-diary to use as a catalyst. Mrs. Malfoy had a bunch of different ideas, but they were all brutal."

"Like what?" Ginny asked quietly.

Bill glared at him and he chose his words carefully, "Most involve the witch's soul being tied to the wizard's bit more more like property than equals."

Mrs. Tonks was more blunt about it, "The traditional way is to rip her magic out, and remake her as a witch and a wife, the way the first ones were made. Cissy's husband did it to her, he almost killed her, hadn't known she was love potioned up and couldn't give it of her own free accord."

Ginny blanched and Bill looked thoughtful at the book in his hands, "We can check if you two are already twisted up. I've never done any soul magic spells, well I guess when Hermione and I got married we did, but none of these. Anyone done them before?"

Both Andromeda and Flitwick indicated they had, Andromeda motioning for Flitwick to go ahead. "The best one is done under moonlight, you'll want to have another wizard or two to check with as well. You should simply test on your own first, since you can't unsee someone's soul. Anyone else you've felt a strong connection towards to test the various levels, Mr. Robinson was correct when he said we're all a little mixed up in each other."

Ralph's voice was emotionless. "You should check with Harry."

Ginny touched his cheek, everything locking down in either anger at his assessment or agreement, or a mix of both. "Go with me to check our courtship garden? I need a break from this madness and maybe the tomatoes are ready."

He got up without saying anything, held his hand out for hers, Ginny's slightly off kilter voice chatting at him as they left the tent. "Maybe the tomatoes will let you pick them today without tutting at you and the squash won't squeal if you get too close. I really don't get why the vegetables are so tetchy with you, it's only our melons and I that want to murder you." Her voice became almost a shriek, "Ralph, I-"

Her voice cut off and Charlie tried to cover the awkwardness. "Oh bloody hell, what are we going to do?"

Mrs. Weasley looked incredibly distraught and very guilty, "He's going to have to rip her soul out on Beltane. It can't be any other day since Ginny was a winter solstice baby."

"I'll anchor them." Charlie said with such an intense determination nobody even tried to wage an argument, just nodded.

"We'll find a way." Bill said with iron in his voice, as there was sounds of commotion outside. "There's gotta be something we haven't found in our research efforts yet."

Charlie's voice was a roar, his face blank and body rigid. " _A single torch in the dark shows every gradation from shadow to blackness, a single torch lit from the Beltane fire must flicker out when there is no hope of harvest, burns when-_ " Charlie jerked, arm flailing out as he came back to himself. His voice was strained, "Got interference, what did I say? Please tell me I made sense?"

Mrs. Weasley's quill was scratching, voice still gentle for him. "Did you see anything with it?"

He tried to concentrate and just paled. "It doesn't do anyone any good to know, won't change a thing. Being oracular is possibly the worst thing you can do to someone."

Ron's strident voice could be heard, "Godric, whose arm is that?"

"Mine." The very pained sounding voice of Lee Jordan echoed and Headquarters erupted back into panic control mode.

Mrs. Tonks and Luna, who'd been silently thinking, were gone in a flash and Mrs. Weasley rushed out, "Here here, sit down Lee. Ron, go for Muriel."

Hermione disillusioned them and nobody looked particularly surprised. McGonagall said tiredly, "One of you kept fidgeting the blanket, I'm surprised there's only two of you sneaking about. Come Filius, perhaps there's something in the library and you know we're going to have help Filch with the aftermath of Robinson's rampage."

"Don't be cross, Minerva. You were there for that fun pop of Little Charlie's brain getting taken over, you know what happens to him." Charlie was cross himself and tetchy as he rubbed his forehead and stood up to walk out with them, pouting at her. "Kiss it and make it better?"

"You're not a child, Charlie." She scolded him lightly.

"Well, that's exactly the point I keep trying to make with you. Glad it's getting through." Charlie said lightly as they left the tent and Hermione had a very suspicious thought that Charlie's flirting was not completely one sided. Hadn't Viktor's first attempts at talking to her been under the guise she was making too much noise in the library or other such nonsense?

Hermione clamored down and went to sit next to Bill, who looked pale, the calm breaking for a moment before a mask went back up. "We can't lose Ginny too. Godric, Harry what's it like for you being connected to him, the same as Gin?"

He shook his head, "Mine is visions and dreams, used to happen when he was feeling something really strongly." He swallowed, "I think I saw him with Ginny when I napped, I'd dozed off without doing any Occlumency exercises. I'd thought it was just an off dream of mine, because when I had the locket I'd had the strangest dreams about her."

Bill nodded, "I'll go help Muriel, then I've got to go let a few more people know about Dad. Do you mind if I dig through the library at Grimmauld Place, Harry?"

Harry shook his head and he kissed Hermione and left. Harry watched him go, "So, you two are okay again?"

Hermione nodded, "It's a process. He's going to undo the 'I can't hurt you, but I'll go crazy if you take it off' claim. It's so hard because none of it is his fault, but he keeps blaming himself."

Harry wasn't sure if Hermione really was describing reality as everyone else saw it, but decided not to say anything since he hadn't hurt her. "Let's go head over to Shell and see just how crazy Bill got. We've got to go over the plan again, it's just three days away." He sighed, "We've got to check the bag too, we broke camp so quickly we probably left something."

Lee's voice was loud, pained, "Forgot, Cho can't get in."

* * *

Harry's insides were on fire as he cleared the wards, racing towards a familiar form on the ground swarmed by dementors, one with hands on her head, throwing his patronus ahead of him to race around her. He started to shake her limp form, "Cho?!"

It took several breaths for her eyes to open and he sagged with relief. She stared up at him, her extremely pretty face shifting through emotions before her small, shaky voice could say anything, "Hi."

"Are you ok?" Harry demanded of her, brushing some of that long silky, dark hair out of her eyes and off her clammy face. "Can you stand?"

She gave a shaky nod and he helped her up, holding her weight while she tried to steady herself. She couldn't stand, sagging against him as they waited for Mrs. Weasley to come give her access and he gently dropped to the ground with her. "What happened?"

"Wood sent out a barely comprehensible call for backup to Puddlemere. Harry, it was awful." He sat, watching her shove her head between her knees. "Dementors on dementors, I was trying to keep the bridge up while Lee tried to hold them off. We were all in pairs." Her voice was pure anxiety, "How is he? I grabbed him but when I brought us the dementors just followed."

"He's getting healed up." Harry very much hoped that was true, "Muriel was a trauma healer, so he'll you know, um, get his arm back on. Magic and all…"

Cho pulled her head up, her eyes relieved. He dug around in his pockets, and found a small triumphant snack, "Have some chocolate. It always helped me after dementors."

"Thank you." She nibbled on it, giving him tiny overtures that the awkwardness that had so permeated every interaction since their blowout over Marietta Edgecombe's need to be a tattle tale about the DA. He'd been so terribly angry that she'd stood by her friend, but now it looked different with time. Marietta's family was being pressured, she'd panicked and Cho had been loyal to her best friend, defended her when she couldn't quite defend herself because she had SNEAK emblazoned on her face. Wasn't that how it was with Ron and Hermione? He gently pulled her closer and wondered if the sweat was from battle or the dementors, wondered if she'd had to relive the moment of him popping out with Cedric's body.

They sat there in silence and she curled against him, Cho slowly getting herself back together, back to the clever seeker he'd played against and heard throw countless puns in the hallways. Her words were abrupt. "Harry, I'm sorry. For everything, for being a wet mop years ago."

He pulled her a little closer as words tumbled out. "You were one of the first victims of this war. Not that you died, but your world changed when-"

"I survived it." Cho interceded and logically corrected him, "I'm a survivor, not a victim, that was Cedric. You helped a lot, probably would have gotten myself killed today if you hadn't taught me stunners in the DA."

He felt himself flush lightly, Cho really was very pretty and while he couldn't quite pinpoint the quality that had made him notice her and moon about her in the first place, he thought it had something to do with how genuine she was. Cho didn't have the ability to hide herself or what she was feeling, for better or worse. "You've always been a talented witch, Cho. I didn't really have much to do with it."

She gave him a smile and tried to stand again, finding she could. "Get back under the wards, Harry. I'm going back now that I've got Lee safe."

"Cho-" He started, but she just gave him a smile and twisted herself away.

* * *

Harry wasn't sure exactly how this worked or what to say as Ginny's suitor stalked off after slamming them with a proximity charm and issuing orders at him in a very curt fashion. Ginny gave him a grimace, "Sorry about that, he's in a mood. Terribly ticked about everything being destroyed."

"What?" Harry asked feeling rather dumb.

"For us to advance to stage three he has to prove he could provide a family with hearth and home, feed me off his lands. Stuff like that, but it's all been razed because he couldn't keep his quill to himself." She sighed sadly and dropped into the sand, then perked. "Though I finally got my groove back, I snapped somewhere between looking at the burnt shell of the cottage and the cut down pear orchard. Those were my pears, that was my potential future, my potential Burrow, nobody gets to take that away from me, but me. I refuse to allow it. If I want to dump him again, that's my choice, I'm not going to be bullied into it."

"I'm sorry about that. You two broke up?" Harry told her genuinely and sat down next to her, for the most part nobody told him anything about Ginny's courtship, thinking it impolite. This was incredibly awkward, he felt like he was fourteen again staring at Cho Chang, Ginny was seriously dating someone else off making their own crockery or whatever it was they had to do.

"Well, if I'm away from him and his magic too long a nice little voice tells me to murder him and that would just be rude." She gave a tiny shudder, but still seemed very much to be Ginny with her groove back. "Now you and I have to check and see if you turn Him off too."

"So, um, how exactly are we supposed to check the connection levels?" Harry queried, he'd been wondering since he heard the discussion, wondering since Hermione had been mumbling to herself about proximity and gone off to start some sort arithmancy equation.

Ginny fidgeted, then blushed. "I feel it most with him when we're being romantic, when we're physical."

Harry felt a slight flush of anger at the back of his neck. "You two aren't supposed to be doing anything."

She rolled her eyes, "I was talking about kissing. I've been a lot farther with you than him, dragons included. Can we, well can we just talk for awhile first? I don't want it to feel forced even though it is."

He nodded and relaxed a bit, feeling slightly victorious at her statement. "I don't want it to be forced either, Gin. How are you holding up with everything?"

She glanced out at the ocean, "I was scared, hurt and confused, now I'm just furious."

"I know the feeling." Harry told her wryly. "Blew my top at everyone for awhile there, didn't I? I think I screamed at you because you were walking slow and I was so paranoid I thought it was to keep me in the dark from something."

"I was in heels." Ginny rolled her eyes, then gave a confession, "You weren't completely wrong, I'd just seen Malfoy go around the corner and really didn't want to hear you go off on your theories about him again. Blew up in my face, didn't it?"

Harry laughed, "Sorry, Gin. Looking back things were a lot simpler when I just had Malfoy as my main worry."

"I'm still so surprised his Mum is helping us, even if it is just to save his skin. I guess she has to love him, being his Mum and all. I really do wish I'd gotten to see him as a ferret."

"Let's just consider it the eighth wonder of the world." Harry tried to lighten her mood. "Ginny, do you think we're connected at all?"

"We'll always be connected, Harry." Ginny said it softly, "We're the only two people that I know of that truly are tied into this war. Everyone else can get up and walk away, but we're tied to him, aren't we? We're tied until the bitter end."

Harry really didn't like the truth in the statement, but wasn't going to deny it. "When did you grow up and get all wise?"

She gave him a half smile and the girl who joked flared. "When you did."

He tentatively touched her hand and she took his, squeezing it and leaned her head against his shoulder, settling in to look out at the ocean again. "Or maybe before you, or after you. Us with Prewett blood are terribly unanchored when it comes to time."

"What are you talking about, Ginny?" Ritualistic words he'd said to her so many times, a joke when they dated and she'd abruptly change topics to cover her emotions. It had taken Hermione to tell him what she was doing, he'd just assumed she'd been spending too much time with Luna again. He knew she was smiling at the slight bewilderment that always accompanied them. He knew someone had told her about what Charlie had said.

"The Prewett line exists because one of the first wizards to mess with time magic threw himself really far back and got stuck for a decade, but he started a family. We're part of the reason time travel laws are so strict, but because he was out of his proper time it messed with the entire bloodline's magic. It's part of why the twins and Muriel didn't have any after effects of hanging out in the past for a few days, chatting with dead people and looking at potential shop expansions. She had a devil of a time keeping them from trying to change things." She dug her toes into the sand, "It also gave us an unusual amount of Seers, because things from different times can come through the magic. Charlie had to go to Seer school after his apparition debacle."

He had no idea why she was talking about this, but knew she had some sort of method to her madness. "Why's that, Ginny girl?"

She smiled at the nickname that had stuck after their first night as a couple when she'd so thoroughly discombobulated him with her kisses his words had jumbled, "Because the first time he successfully apparated McGonagall had just been talking to him and he wasn't focusing correctly and accidentally threw himself backwards in time and landed in her learning apparition hoop, promptly causing a ruckus. He tries to be discreet about how often he goes side along, because if he doesn't take extra moments to really focus on what time he wants to arrive he usually mucks it up by a few minutes either way, which is incredibly dangerous. We've all got the Seer in some sense." She paused shifting her head in an attempt to get him to play with her hair and he obliged, long familiar with these attention driven tactics from the common room. "Bill gets really bad headaches, his magic attacks his brain because whatever it is can't get through because he's got a block or something. Charlie's got a mix of dreams and just being a channel, it's strongest for him. Percy only Sees the past and for the twins it's completely jumbled since the message splits and they each get half in disjointed pieces. Ron constantly has deja vu and maybe more, he's hasn't talked about his dreams since we were little."

That Harry could confirm, Ron's dream journal for Divination had always been made up on the pretense that Trelawney really didn't need to know what went on his head. Harry had always just assumed it was the same sort of dreams he was having as a teenage boy and ignored it, and made up his own dream journal. "What about you Ginny?"

She was staring at the water with an intense look on her face. "I dreamed Hogwarts was burning last night, the grounds lit up by flashes and flashes of magic. I dreamed of battle, Harry. The only consolation is I don't see what's set in stone." She sighed heavily. "I get the possibilities and go do the arithmancy."

Harry wasn't sure what to say as his heart dropped at the news, Hogwarts had been the first place that felt like home. "It doesn't have to happen, I've got a plan."

"It won't." Ginny said with determination, her brown eyes lighting into a blaze as she stared at him. "Just like nobody is going to rip Tom out of my soul."

"Ginny, we have to." Harry desperately pleaded at her. Why would she not want it gone? He knew she was scared, but they had to get it out.

She shook her head, gaze unwavering. "No, not yet. Harry, you've got to finish whatever you're doing and I'm the way you can. Do what you need to do and I'll keep You-Know-Who so distracted he won't notice."

Harry was speechless as the waves crashed and crashed. The anger started to build, not an option. She was not some sort of sacrificial lamb. "No, Ginny."

"Yes, Harry." There was such a fierce determination that her magic flared and crackled in her hair like licking flames. "I've got this. He wants to be obsessed with me? Fine, let him. I'm not some innocent little girl anymore, he's got a giant bitch on his hands now."

He kissed her then, unable to stop himself or wait a moment longer for her permission, kissed her and showed her that the only flashes of explosions she should be seeing were the ones that lay between them. They were there as he wound a hand in her hair and shifted her for a better angle, they were inside of him and all around him. That familiar fire started to quickly brew in him and he went for her neck, for that little spot under her ear that always made her gasp. "Harry, I-"

She gasped and he was supremely pleased with himself, then she was shoving him away, shaking, but firm. "Don't you dare try and force me."

"Ginny, I'm sorry. I got-" He started completely hating himself as he unhanded her.

"I'm not talking to you." She snapped it at Harry, before her she muttered to herself, "Lower your voice right now or I'll go end this problem."

Oh no, rather than turn Lord Voldemort off for Ginny he'd turned him on and pissed him off. He took a deep breath, sent a patronus message ahead and pulled Ginny up and started to walk the agitated girl towards the house. Both Ralph and Charlie came at them at a sprint, Ginny smacked her suitor then backhanded him before he caught her hand and pulled her close and kissed her with a determined gentleness until she stopped struggling, kept kissing her as she settled, kissed her until she completely melted with a soft little noise. It made Harry wonder if he'd ever really kissed a girl like that, if he ever would get the chance. Perhaps next time he'd open his eyes and see what he was doing to a girl.

"People have told me staring is rude." Charlie said lightly, though he too was watching. "Damn, she got him good, hit him loads harder than when she got feisty with me in the afternoon."

"Staring is rude." Ralph said pulling away, "You alright now, Gin?"

She nodded and blushed, leaning against him. "Sorry, Harry. Turns out while we're really connected you have the opposite effect, he was close to completely taking me over. Wanted me to lure you to him."

Harry just nodded, "Makes sense, he and I are all mucked up magically. My old wand had a twin core to his. I'm sorry if I was-"

She held up a hand, "That was the point wasn't it? Not that it matters since I'm not doing it."

"Ginny-" Everyone started at once.

"No. I may be struggling with my free will at the moment, but I'm not going to waver on this." Her fire was in full swing, "I don't care how hard it is, you do your thing Harry and I'll get some vengeance for my thing. He's looking for something important and the only thing he's going to find is me. You go find whatever he wants first and I'll be as annoying as I possibly can."

"As her brother, I can attest she's an annoyance professional. Years and years of practice at it." Charlie lightened the mood and accepted it, "She'll probably drive him to move his operations to another country to try and get away from her."

"Count yourself lucky, Charlie. I had six targets, now I've got one." Ginny grinned at him, falling into step back towards Shell. She paused, "Wait, I can't stay, not if Harry's going to set him off and I can't be at headquarters either. Kingsley banned it." She turned to her suitor, "Can we wrangle a movie? I promise to do my best to not assault you again."

"Rent a movie, sweetheart. Sure, we'll pick up some dinner too. You with us, C?" He looped his hand into Ginny's.

"Gotta go back to HQ, check on the dragons, Angus was not happy after he and Gin talked." Charlie said and they wandered off after Ginny pecked his cheek, her beau lightly telling her that he deserved an apology too for getting smacked.

He walked with Charlie, thinking about the kiss, his thoughts drifting to if Cho made it out ok. "Don't they need a chaperone?"

"I'll put You-Know-Who on the damn paperwork, but nah I think his Mum got sent to the flat." Charlie quipped at him. "Let's go see if Griphook has stopped berating Bill for using his room as his arson spot. Thank Godric Mum created anti-flammable containment charms for individual rooms and had it perfected before the twins got around to the idea of WWW. Took her ages, she's real proud of the patent."

Harry wondered just how often the Burrow had been blown up to drive her to create new magic to contain her family.

* * *

A/N: Review, you know you want to! Up next we'll tackle Gringotts.


	28. The Day Before We Went to War

A/N: The reviews are so appreciated, especially now as we're getting to the end of days and back to a bit more of the sombre. First half of the chapter is our alternate heros (Ginny and crew) then we go to the ones walking in the dark before getting back to the main three. Someone sent a request, but if you're a read to music person most of this was written to the spotify playist: Of Shadow Born by Dianne Sylvan (not me, but she's a great author and has great taste in writing music).

Your narrators are: Ginny, Charlie, Harry, Severus, Fred and Bill

* * *

 **The Day Before We Went to War**

Ginny was humming softly to the little bundle she had in one arm as she went to lay him down, startling him back into her arms at the sounds of an explosion.

"Gin, take the baby and portkey." It was a yell and she pulled him close, yanking at her charm bracelet, clutching at it.

"Come!" She screamed right back, but he was already throwing hexes, trying to take them out as they flooded through the door as she activated the emergency portkey. One. Someone flung into a wall, he's trying to freeze them to block the doorway. Two. She's trying to put the baby into a better angle and throws a stunner. Three. She's spinning away and screaming as she sees a green light flashing.

She was shaking and looked up at where she landed, expecting the Burrow and sighed when it was the Chamber and who her company was yet again tonight in her dreams. "Why do you show me things like that?"

"That wasn't me, dear Ginevra. That's your own dreaming." Tom was leaning idly against a column, her version of him, young and vibrant. His voice a tantalizing drawl. "My dreams for you are much more interesting."

"Not a fan of those either." She snapped and he just smiled.

"Want me to comfort you? Ginevra, what's scarier? The complete darkness." It went black and she stood still, then a candle lit in her hand and she started glancing around, trying to see and started spinning trying to figure out where he was. His nail scraped the back of her neck, words a whisper in her ear. "Or when you've got enough light to know there are monsters lurking? To wonder and wonder if that shape is one or if it's just in your head."

She turned to spit in his face, but he was gone again, flitting just at the edge of range of light. "You've got to have a little light to appreciate the darkness, don't you think?"

"But you don't need darkness to see the light, Tom." She countered right back, not wanting to fall into one of the word games they had played so often in her diary. The word games he had taught her.

"You used to love looking at the stars, at the perfect balance there, astronomy was your very favorite class unless I'm mistaken." His voice wasn't hissing, it was the nice timbre, the polite one he'd used with her before, the one that had pulled her into this mess."I'd prefer you to use my proper name."

"And blow my wards with the Taboo? I know you as Tom, not what you've become. What's your point with all of this? With dragging everyone into your madness." She crossed her arms and set her hips to gear up for an argument.

"I'm no more insane than you are, sweet Ginevra. I'm redesigning the wizarding world to be how it should have been." His voice kept circling her.

"Destroying it. There's a pretty high body count right now." She really wanted him to understand this, to stop dragging country after country onto a burning pyre of blood purity. To comprehend if he kept this up he wasn't going to have a little world to rule.

"That is your own group's fault, I have no intention of spilling magical blood, far too precious of a thing." Light, mocking, words he'd said before, words Grindelwald had used, no rise to power ever stated they wanted to hurt people.

"So explain to me the rumors that muggleborns are dying in Azkaban." She hated hearing them, hated the one conversation she'd had with Sirius over what it had been like in the middle of the night after she'd had a nightmare of the Chamber.

"What's a few deaths, here and there?" He said it so casually. "They're not being flat out killed, are they? Just too weak to survive."

"You're afraid of it. Of death." Ginny stated bluntly and blew out the candle, "Afraid of being in the dark all alone."

"I've mastered death." He told her and light came back, "And I'm not all alone, I've got you as my little candle, don't I? Such a lovely prophecy."

"Never heard it, do tell." Ginny really was rather curious and a little bit annoyed that she hadn't known there had been a ball there in the Department of Mysteries with her name on it. Or if it had even said her name on it at all. How had she even been identified as the person to be gifted the dratted diary in the first place?

"Nothing comes for free, my Persephone." There was silk in his voice. "I'd prefer to tell you in person."

"That how you get your little Death Eaters? Little taunts and nibbles, won't work with me." Ginny shook her head, she'd seen enough of how how Slytherin's played their little pointless games at Hogwarts. Had flirted enough to know this game.

"Would you prefer threats, Ginevra? Your part in this is set. You are the face of my greatest triumph. You will do as you're told or I'll destroy everything you love." He'd told her a bit anyway as he taunted her, a lock of hair falling into his eye.

"I'd prefer if you were nice to me, you're perfectly capable of that." She shifted and he seemed amused, which aggravated her to no end.

"Want to destroy something, Tom?" She took a deep breath as something old in her flared, that love she'd had for this friend, the tears that had flooded after, the sadness that the boy she had talked to had become this, had so easily lured her. Then her angry brashness at the situation boiled out. "Destroy me, not the world. Or try to anyway. Didn't work out so well last time."

Tom was eyeing her, looking thoughtful. "An interesting offer, Ginevra, so very Gryffindor of you." He gave her a very pleased smile, "One I think I shall take you up on. Do me the honor of meeting with me?"

"Nothing comes for free, Hades." Ginny threw his words back at him, shoving down the part of her that was trying to panic at what she'd just said. He laughed, truly laughed.

He gave her a smile, "Oh, how I've missed having someone talk back, it makes it all so much more enjoyable and you have more wit than Potter. Having sycophants can make for very tiresome conversations."

"It's not like you picked the best of the bunch." Ginny moved to sit down as he chuckled again, not knowing why she kept talking to him, other than this pull of what lay between them. He stilled her, spreading his cloak on the floor for her. She rambled to cover just how disconcerted this little game made her. "Lost to a crew of teenagers that taught themselves to fight in the Department of Mysteries debacle, didn't they? Took down Avery when I was fourteen."

"I was very proud of you for that, Ginevra, you've always had an affinity towards hexes even as a little girl." He commented, dropping down next to her with a wink.

"Have six teasing older brothers and a mass of cousins and you'd get why. Used to have to steal Mum's wand to hex them all into stasis so I could use the loo in a reasonable amount of time." Ginny told him lightly.

"It was crowded where I spent my youth as well." He touched her hand and gave her a charming smile, his manners from another time, fully present. "Ginevra, if I may be so bold, you are uncommonly beautiful."

Ginny took a deep breath and was quiet a long time, how many people could this save? To encourage this obsessive crush he'd developed upon finding they were connected. How long did Harry need? Could she pull the balancing act long enough to where he didn't just snap and come kidnap her? "Thank you, just got lucky I guess." She looked at her hands, slightly shy, "I thought you were so handsome when I had my diary."

"Not now?" He asked, tightly squeezing her hand with his cold one.

"You've done a lot of things to yourself in the real world, Tom, some I think just to look scary. I'm sure your old nose worked just fine." She didn't pull her hand away, leaving it still and forcibly pushing away the contact from her mind. She thought of Harry, of Dumbledore. "True power doesn't need any of that."

"Are you saying it makes you think I'm weak?" There was a thoughtful danger in his voice, a light warning of his temper even as he listened.

"Why don't you ever go out in public? Or openly run the Ministry if you're so powerful? It's because you look like a reject, not like a ruler." She really, really needed a filter between her mouth and her brain, her bluntness was going to get her killed one day. This was a dangerous game she was playing, dancing with the devil. "Or just because you're so afraid of Harry?"

He let out a very pleased chuckle even as he zapped her brain for mentioning Harry, "Perhaps I have a thing or two to learn from my beautiful Persephone. Is that how you went from being so invisible you poured your soul out to a diary then to being a popular student, little one?" He queried, thumb starting to stroke little circles into her hand.

"Wouldn't you just love to know?" Ginny was arch with him, wondering just how she was being allowed to get away with saying things like this.

"You've certainly always craved power, haven't you, my Ginevra? Wanted Harry Potter for his status, dated the little brightest of his year Ravenclaw, the popular Gryffindor."

"It's never been about any of that." She shook her head at him and truly it hadn't, perhaps her crush on Harry had started because he was famous, but then she'd gotten to know him, to admire the sweetness and loyalty there.

"No?" He raised a speculative eyebrow at her, "I don't believe you, 'My bag ripped _again_ , Tom. Now I've got detention for being late, it's like being punished for being poor.' Nice of me to teach you those mending charms, wasn't it?" He scoffed. "Even your little filthy mudblood suitor was born was a giant silver spoon in his mouth. Tell me, was it easy to manipulate him into such _nice_ settlements? Such expensive presents?"

"I only read my portions of the paperwork." Ginny felt like she was whirling, remembering holding more money than she'd ever seen in her life at the cash machine. Had just blindly signed paperwork that he'd said was to take care of her in case he got blown up during their courtship, just trusting him.

"I see my little naive Ginny is still in there, still signing and writing on things she hasn't read. If you'd like, I'll kill him tomorrow and you won't have to worry about reading it. You can take your money and run." He dropped a wink with a half-smile, a flirting tone.

"You're more deceiving this way, you know. Easy to see why you got little naive Ginny to do what you wanted. Too bad she can see the snake now." She flicked her hair over her shoulder and watched his eyes follow, lingering. "I'm sure with all of your vast magical knowledge you could get these nice looks back."

"I rather like when you compliment me, Ginevra." He smiled at her and slid one of his arms around her, then frowned at something over her shoulder and Ginny felt the tingle of Ralph's magic flashing in and out, falling into sync with her brain for a moment as he tried to monitor her dreams. He was angry now. "Ginevra, where are you sleeping right now?"

She felt someone start trying to wake her up. She looked at Tom, "Not telling. Don't particularly feel like being kidnapped at the moment. Isn't that how the myth goes?"

"Ginevra, you are not to be with him. I forbid it." Tom's anger and volume were mounting. "Was that not made perfectly clear?"

She yanked her hand out of his, "All you made clear was that you throw tantrums like a toddler over a few taunts. I'd think you'd have thicker skin than that."

"A toddler? I'd watch your tone or I'll throw a tantrum that kills-" He grabbed her hand back.

"Don't embarrass yourself, Tom. You're already trying to kill all of us anyway, that threat doesn't work." She cut him off viciously and he shut his mouth looking startled.

She let herself respond to the shaking that was happening in real life, snapping her eyes open to Ralph and her Mum's worried ones. Finding she felt cold and damp as she sat up and looked at them, their words of asking if she alright washing over her without answer, words hissing into her mind. _There are things worse than death, Ginevra. Watch your tone or watch your world burn._

 _You already did that. Go fix my garden and cottage. Don't let your little sycophants mess it up or I won't teach you anymore about power._

 _Teach me about power? Don't be naive, my Ginevra. What do you even know of it?_

 _That I've got it over you. Goodnight, Tom._

She just grabbed at Ralph's magic yanking so hard he stumbled and sat, just opening his arms for her to flee into. "Mrs. Weasley, do you mind pouring her a cup of tea? She's freezing." He squeezed her, "I'm sorry I let it happen, there was a dragon issue and I had to stop monitoring for a while to go help Charlie. Are you alright? Was he hurting you?"

She managed a small smile, then reality settled back in and the words finally tumbled out. "He wasn't hurting me…well I think it's more than obsession. He's obsessed with Harry, but for me... I think he has a crush on me."

Ralph tucked his head onto hers so she couldn't see his face. "He looked like he was about to try and kiss you when I flickered in. We'll handle it together, Gin."

"How, how are you so calm about all of this?" She begged to know, "I want that, not these bursts of fire followed by shakiness after I realize I'm saying the rudest things to him and he's liking it."

He pecked her hair, "I'm not calm sweetheart, but you need me to be steady for you and I can do that."

She turned up and stole a real kiss, settling at the promise in his words. Settling the same way she had when she'd realized it was him on the other dragon, that flash of relief and burst of confidence. Wars weren't won alone, they were won with the rock that lets you act like a barnacle, with the Mum who makes you tea and fusses over how little you ate at dinner and Ginny was at war. She just wasn't exactly sure the rules or the stakes yet other than it might just be her soul.

* * *

Charlie glanced up at Oliver and stopped trying to scold Angus for breaking out of the wards and burning down a bookshop that had diaries in the window. "Hey, how's it going? Alright shift?"

He nodded, then dug around in his pocket. "Your Mum kicked ass. Checked on your sister and Robinson a few times. Disturbing that is, first check in she's sitting there giggling at You-Know-Who telling her a funny story in her head."

Charlie tried not to grimace and turned to the logical side of his brain that sounded like Bill. "Well, he had to be charming to get all of those followers, didn't he? Not like anyone sane would believe in his manifestos and want to treat other humans like garbage."

Wood shrugged and looked at his note, "Guess so. She asked me to ask you to go over later so Robinson can have a nap and if you'll talk to him."

Charlie shook his head and took it. "Godric, I don't have time for that drama. I've got to go Hogwarts and pick up the pieces from their last mess while Snape is gone. Hagrid's trying to comfort our old car who's worried about Ginny, as far as Hagrid can tell the Ford found her bloodily staggering through the Forbidden Forest, remembered her and gave her a ride. Minerva needs me to undo a lot of the charm work Robinson did while he was running around trying to find Gin, because they can't since he used modified dragon charms. Then I've got to go talk to the centaurs to figure out what happened and probably have to apologize for one or both of them." He rubbed his own face, "Muriel's right, we should just send Ginny to a convent and get her off our hands." Charlie didn't mean it, but she was exasperating and couldn't manage to keep herself out of trouble.

"Doubt they'd take her. She's dancing with the devil, isn't she?" Oliver shook his head again, "On a positive note, Alicia and I are tying the knot on Beltane. You're invited!" He nudged Charlie's shoulder, "Katie Bell will be there."

Charlie decided to avoid the topic of Katie Bell and his flirtation to focus on what was important. "When did you two decide to get in such a rush?"

"We've been engaged awhile and my family is really superstitious about squibs, so we figured we'd have the wedding on one of the four Feast days. She'd wanted a fall wedding, but since we're all almost getting killed everyday why wait?"

"Congratulations! Let me know when and where, I'll be there unless the world implodes again." Charlie grinned at him and the grin didn't hurt his face, yes he was grieving, but this was life. "You going to be around here for awhile?"

He nodded, "I'm on relay duty. Might be in and out a bit, I think they've got a bit of a settlement plan started for the Veelas."

"Great. If that green dragon, Angus, breaks his wards again just shoot a message to me or Robinson and we'll go get him. Don't get too close to him, he can flame about 30 feet." Charlie clapped him on the back, pretending not to see the uneasy look on his face.

"Gotcha. Charlie? Remind me to always pick your Mum as a shift partner, I don't even know half of what she was throwing." Oliver gave a little shudder.

"Where is she?"

"Taking Stan Shunpike to get questioned and try and get him out from under the Imperius Curse again." Oliver shook his head.

Charlie followed suit, "Kid was always daft as hell when I got stuck tutoring him for detention, but he's got to stop having us pull him out only to walk down the street and get smacked again. I don't even know why they keep picking him."

He decided to check in himself, knowing far better than Wood just how worked up his younger sister could get and knowing if he said that in the house, Muriel would have kittens and smash herself over there. He focused hard and got to the flat, picked up the package there and knocked. "It's Charlie. Ralph, what went wrong at Beltane last year?"

"You tried to cook." The door unlocked and Charlie went in, ignoring the incredibly rude answer. Ralph turned back to Ginny, "Tell him just to torture the bloke not kill him."

She had her hands on her hips. "Rob, please stop acting all territorial and purposefully pissing Him off, it stings my brain. Yes, I was a stupid, lonely child and wrote to Tom and he made me fall in love with him. Yes, I fell in love with Harry, but you know what? I never fell in love with you."

Godric, what exactly was he walking into. Ginny was blazing at him and he turned away, snapping the eye contact. Her next words were soft as she wrapped her arms around him from behind. "I never had to, neither did you. It's just been there and now it's changed into what it's supposed to be."

Charlie eyed him at the emotions working their way across his face as he wound his hands into hers and squeezed, "R, go take a run, you need it."

He just nodded and went to change, Charlie dropped onto the couch next to an unhappy Ginny, "Hi, littlest. How's operation annoy?"

She shifted, "He's mad at Travers right now, turns out I was taken to a muggle hospital sometime when Travers was supposed to be coming back to watch me after Tom left, but took a break. It's in the missing chunk, so Tom's sending someone to find out why."

"She was a wreck by the time I found her, all torn up and bloody. Want him on or off?" Ralph had appeared, but didn't acknowledge her words or hug.

"Off." Ginny asked and tilted her head up, took her peck and he left.

"You two made it to stage three! Well, technically not, but I spilled tea all over the bottom of the chart and don't want to tell Bill that I've got no clue what else you two have to do because he spent ages on the thing..." Charlie got himself a giggle and passed over the package. "Looks like this is for you, it was in the hallway."

Ginny eyed it in trepidation and Charlie realized just who it must be from, "Let me check it. Bill taught me some basic curse breaker stuff."

He swished and swished, ran his wand over it for ages and found nothing. Ginny very cautiously opened it with a peek then smiled and opened it further. It was a very nice schoolbag, "That's thoughtful, he was saying he'd like me to go back to school."

Charlie was not pleased, he was very quickly getting angry. "Look at the monogram, Gin."

Ginny paled until she was so white Charlie thought she might pass out. He shoved her head between her knees, "Breathe, Ginny. Just focus on breathing."

"Charlie, I don't want that burden. I don't want-"

"Breathe, Ginny. In and out." Charlie tried rubbing her back and was pleased when the door opened again and Ralph came in, slightly bloody. He took in the situation and dropped to the floor at Ginny's feet, peering up at her and pecking her.

Charlie relaxed, he should probably tell them to keep their magic to themselves, but he didn't mind the little soothing he was getting since he was jumbled up a bit with both of them and had done more than enough dragon magic with Ralph to feel it. Ginny calmed, "Why are you bloody? Tom better not have gone back on his word and sent people after you."

"Got hit by a bike messenger almost as soon as I left, I freaking hate London." He told her, "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

She pointed at the bag and sat up. He glanced at it, then took her hand and started rummaging around her charm bracelet. "Can you see this one here?"

She nodded, confused at the little bubbles charm and he gave her a huge smile. "Then that bag over there doesn't mean a thing, Gin. Let me talk to C, for a second, ok? And no peeking at that charm."

He got up from her feet and all but dragged Charlie into the bedroom, slamming it with a muffliato charm. "Calm down, Brutus."

"I'm perfectly calm." He got very nervous looking, "Look, I already asked your dad, but I feel like I should ask your permission-"

"Yes." Charlie rolled his eyes, "Think I would have let you court her and then not marry her? When are you proposing?"

He scuffed his foot, "I was planning on Beltane since we're gonna smash our magic up then. You heard her, it gets to a guy when you hear the genuine stuff, you know?"

"You're a giant sap. Since I've got to go fix your Hogwarts stuff, why the hell are there anti-dragon fire charms everywhere? Write Minerva an apology letter, she's still incredibly ticked with you and I think she's going to hex your face off." Charlie clapped him on the shoulder.

"You tell your crush those charms are there because that one kid either can't use his wand or is just a pyromaniac. I didn't want the paintings to burn because that's how I was trying to find Gin at first. Running after that little knight until some girl said he was completely insane and just told me where it was. But fine, I'll write a letter taking all the blame so Ginny and those little rebels don't get in trouble." He ran a hand through his hair, "I'm terrible at apologizing, I'll make Ginny write it since she was why I was there."

"Ginny is even worse than you are." Charlie told him lightly and laughed as they went back into the room with Ginny, "Alright, I'm off, got to do it while Snape is out of the castle. You two alright? Who's the next person checking in to make sure she didn't murder you?"

"Don't phrase it like that, freckle face. I haven't hit him once since." She made a face at him. "Think it's Mum or Percy."

Aberforth didn't even say a word as he nodded at the painting and went back to what he was doing. Charlie whistled while he walked, eyeing the little group in the room. They seemed to be in even more bandages, "I'll send a healer."

* * *

Severus walked slowly through Malfoy Manor, eyeing the destruction Narcissa was instructing a house elf to clean. Eyeing the woman herself, she seemed unharmed and before he could wonder at who had thrown the little fit Bellatrix stalked by, looking murderous and slapped the house elf. "The Dark Lord is waiting for you, Severus."

The door was open and waiting, "My Lord?"

"Come in, Severus, I have need of you." That was a slight relief, he'd been rather more concerned this was to be a punishment for two Order members breaking their way into Hogwarts.

"What is it My Lord requires?" He asked taking the seat and glancing at the desk to see what he was doing. There was an open journal and what appeared to be rather a lot of paperwork he was filling out.

He looked up and appeared to be in a good mood according to the grimace on his face that acted as a smile. "Ginevra sends her regards. I'd like to discuss potions that permanently alter one's appearance in advance of several public appearances I plan on making. She is under the impression my position of power is weakened by lack of visibility and has made her case very thoroughly by using both magical and muggle history of power rises, even my own. She must have been top of her class before her education was cut short."

Severus kept his face straight, but chose not say he highly doubted anyone had ever called Ginny Weasley top of her class before. "I believe most of the staff's complaints about her have been her disobedience to rules, not her education. I'm sure the necessary potions can be brewed."

"I'll send a list for you to review and recommend off of, given my regeneration may alter their efficacy. Has there been more news on the trail of the Elder Wand? I need to go to the Balkans, but I'll be tied up with this paperwork for days."

Severus stiffened his mental shields at the words, yes, he knew who had the Elder Wand, knew who was meant to have it before Draco Malfoy's interference. He was going to have to find a way for Potter to win it from Draco. "While I have Madame Pince Imperiused and she is searching the Hogwarts library for alternate trails, she has not yet produced anything I believe to be a believable path."

"What's the most viable route? Who's the last known owner?" He demanded.

"One route leads to Bartemius Crouch Jr, but his wand was burned when he was sent to Azkaban after the end of the First War." Severus took a breath, it had been rather farfetched, but now was not the time to waver. "I recall him being uncommonly powerful for such a young wizard. That path holds Frank Longbottom as the previous owner, Barty winning it by giving the final torture that sent him insane."

"I did hate to lose him." The Dark Lord stopped writing and put his fingers together in thought, "Such a loyal servant, not a blemish on his service to me. He's one of the true heroes in this war." He paused, "Not now, sweet Ginevra." Severus didn't think he'd realized he was still speaking aloud as he frowned, glancing at some of the surveillance photos then at words appearing in the journal. He looked back to Severus and pressed his wand into his own arm, calling someone. Severus mused on the wand, on the path it had left throughout history and mused on the path a woman can leave on a man's life, allowing himself a moment of unfocused eyes to look at those photos and imagine the flash of red hair was Lily's.

Bellatrix appeared, her voice eager, "What do you need, My Lord?"

"Clear my calendar for tomorrow and cancel the raids for tonight. It appears I now have other plans."

She muttered to herself in outrage, but accepted and left. Severus raised an eyebrow, "Plans with Miss Weasley?"

"Yes, she's up to something, but I don't doubt she'd follow through on her threat to just marry the mudblood." He hissed it. "She's very displeased that I was going to have Draco file suit for her, did not think a boy who was bounced around as a ferret and has lost to her in quidditch was worthy of her. I don't know how she found out."

"Their spies at the Ministry might have been aware he went in for paperwork to file a countersuit." Severus drawled logically, covering for 'Cissa, whom he suspected was pulling rather a lot of strings at the moment. Encouraging this madness of the Dark Lord's, getting the courtship laws changed.

"Most likely, those incompetents couldn't even pass a law that invalidated her courtship like asked." He glanced back at the paperwork, "Now I have to do it myself and Ginevra very much wants to participate in writing the rules for the daughters. I'm debating the political and social effects of filing for her and would be very pleased if you were my witness if I decide to set the example."

"It would be an honor, My Lord. Do you think it's wise to let a young woman known to be associated quite so closely to your enemies to create legislature? To give Miss Weasley quite so much power over your decisions?" Severus asked in a drawl, sensing he was in the mood for council to be listened to without punishment. To listen to the loyal servant who had served in two wars.

Lord Voldemort looked up at him and their eyes met, "I believe it was the power of a young woman over you that led you into my service, was it not? Potter's mother, the favor you asked me. To spare her, to give her to you for keeping."

"You are correct, My Lord." He kept his voice neutral, thinking of that meeting request. Of that night he realized the prophecy he'd delivered could mean Lily's son, could mean Lily's death. Of the very long time of the Dark Lord digging through his mind, running his memories like a movie, watching Lily, seeing the similarities to himself and his childhood. The groveling he'd done, the loyalty he'd had painfully burned into his arm that night to become one of the inner circle. How dazed and still worried, he'd sought more assurance for Lily's safety and gone to Dumbledore and begged there too. Begged him to help save the best friend, the girl he'd loved.

"Then Severus, I think you understand where I am at with Ginevra. I could rip her out of my soul easily enough, but I find it pleasant having her burn there, she's a fiery little thing." He glanced back at the paperwork, "Do tell Bellatrix to calm down or have her childish tantrums elsewhere."

Severus took his dismissal and rose, "Anything else, My Lord?"

He didn't get a response as the Dark Lord had picked up a quill to start writing in the journal. There was a light knock at the doorway, revealing Narcissa.

"Yes?" He drawled it out, looking up.

"If it is your will, I'd like to see Miss Weasley's current accommodations to understand her preferences to properly make her room as you requested." She took a breath, he didn't seem to be upset, "As well as be able to ensure I'm providing clothing in the correct sizes."

"Ever the hostess, Narcissa." It was condescending, but he was not displeased at the thoroughness behind the thought. "Go on then, destroy the house as you leave. They won't be needing it once we've caught up with them." He paused, "No, don't. Ginevra finds such wanton destruction childish."

"Yes, my Lord." She rose and headed out, not surprised when Severus fell into step with her. She glanced at the bruise on his jaw, fingers brushing it. "Would you like me to heal it? I believe we have some extra potent bruise salve."

He shook his head, his laconic drawl showing the slightest tinge of amusement. "That would take far too much joy from the student body and my colleagues."

She managed a tight smile, Severus had always been teased and had whispers behind him. It would have been worse to be invisible and she had deep feeling that Severus was leaving the bruise as the smallest sign of hope for the children in his care that the good side was winning, even if was slightly humiliating. If only the children realized how much their teachers gave up of their lives to teach them, to guide them, if only they saw how much Severus really did care about his charges. Severus' voice was the barest whisper, "Out of the house again, 'Cissa?"

Her spine stiffened the tiniest amount and she said nothing. Severus went on. "Draco left for the Greengrass' this morning, I believe to file a suit."

She nodded, she'd given him the requisite jewelry to do so. "I'm aware."

Severus seemed to be choosing his words carefully, "That won't save Draco. The Dark Lord would like Draco…to be an example for his peers."

"I'll find another way, then. Any way but dragging him deeper into this, like Lucius thinks will help." There was determination there and he had the slightest tinge of regret that his own mother, that Lily had given up on him so easily. He felt contemplative after the meeting and pulled out the pensive, pouring an old memory in, a painfully bittersweet, but precious one.

….

Lily was surprised when he was the one waiting for her in the empty classroom. Anger burning in him as everything crashed down. "So it's true?"

"Is what true, Sev?" She asked in confusion. "Why did you send me a note pretending to be Remus?"

He glared at her, she should know exactly what he was talking about. Why else would they be standing here?

"What, need to tell me you finally got your little stamp on your arm?" She demanded.

"No. Is it true?" He demanded right back, "Are you actually going to Hogsmeade with that scum?"

She bristled, "James isn't-"

"So, Lil, what do you call the past six years of my life? A chummy friendship with a nice guy?" It was snapped, he needed to know. She wouldn't, she couldn't actually do that to him.

She sat down next to him in the empty classroom, "He's nice. He got his head on straight now, but Sev, it just started out of an inter house rivalry. You know you two got off on the wrong foot when we were in the boats going to the castle all those years ago."

"I was defending you, Lil." He drawled almost tiredly, they'd had this conversation on repeat for years and she always, always tried to stay neutral.

She touched his arm, "I know, but it wasn't James or Sirius' faults they'd never seen a muggleborn before and were curious as to what I knew or my fault I got so excited at seeing the castle."

"They were being so rude to you."

"They were just being curious, Sev. You're the one who took it as taunts and started throwing hexes." She squeezed his arm.

"But you're dating James Potter?" He demanded again, not really able to believe she would do that. "He's-"

"We're going to Hogsmeade, it's not dating. What? Going to insult him the way you have me? I'm a mudblood, remember? He's from a respected pureblood family. What are you really going to say to your little Death Eater friends?" She snapped it and got up to walk away.

He followed, "That he's a bully, he may be playing nice, but do you think that part of someone goes away? That he's just trying to be with you because of how pretty you'll look on his arm? I don't want him using you like he has all of those other girls, you're different."

"You think I'm pretty?" She asked it in a softer voice, eyes changing from anger and he stepped closer nodding, tucking a piece of silky hair behind her ear. Her face tilted up and he started to bend, eyes shutting as he moved even closer to show her how desperately he loved her. It was finally happening and then things would go back to how they were, where she would go to Hogsmeade with him or at least make time for him there away from her little giggling friends.

He pulled out of the memory then, not wanting to recall how Sirius Black had barged in looking for an empty classroom with a girl and ruined everything and made himself even more of a lifelong target of his loathing. He leaned back in his chair, before acknowledging the waiting paintings. "It went well. He is very distracted by Miss Weasley at the moment."

Albus nodded, "We thought that might occur, which is a hopeful thing. As the rest of the horcruxes are destroyed her influence on him will only grow as she gains a larger portion of his dwindling soul."

Of all the people to play pivotal roles in saving the wizarding world, Severus would not have picked either the unremarkable Harry or brash Ginny. "What is Potter waiting for? Do you think he has yet to figure out there's one in the vault?"

"I believe between them, that would have been established quickly. I am confident Harry has a well thought out plan."

"That's what concerns me." Severus muttered it to himself, not thinking the boy particularly skilled at deductive reasoning. "He has survived thus far due to interventions, luck and sheer gall."

"I find him a superb wizard and think he has the support he needs." Dumbledore replied simply and Severus sighed, this was Lily's son, this was all he could do for her now.

* * *

"So the plan hasn't changed, right?" Harry asked, with a nervous glance at both Hermione and Ron. "I mean, you're still coming right, Ron?"

"Yeah, Mum is insistent we wait until we've got a body for the funeral. Hermione, Bill still can't come, not now that he's head of the family." Ron kicked a rock, also glancing nervously at her. "You know, and that he might go crazy again."

She rolled her eyes, "He's got enough to do here and he won't lose it again. We're fixing it tonight. Charlie's going to come over and they're going to smash the necklace with a hammer so it undoes the ownership claim for both of them."

"Thought Charlie was the best kiss you ever had?" Harry teased lightly, they needed lightness right now.

"That's Charlie's version of our mistletoe adventure." She shook her head, "We're sure the two Aurors you two are going to impersonate are still, you know, alive?"

"We should check that." Harry conceded.

"I don't want to be a girl." Ron protested for what had to be the hundredth time. "Hermione, I still think you should just do it and Harry can be under the cloak with Griphook."

"Can't. Bill doesn't want me taking a single potion until, well. I can't." She flushed. "Besides, I had to polyjuice as Harry who's a boy. You'll be fine."

"Hermione? Harry asked in confusion, "Bill doesn't get to tell you when or what you do, you realize that right?"

She didn't look at either of them. "I don't want to take one either, it's a small possibility, but it's there." Her words were rushed, these were things she talked to Ginny about, not these two clueless boys. "We've forgotten protection a few times, I don't think I'm quite up to weight enough for my body to be able.." She flushed harder, "..to get pregnant, but I won't know I'm not until I get my courses."

"Hermione, you should stay behind." Harry started and she shook her head.

"No. All of my clothes have the twins shield charms on them, my wedding band is covered in protective runes and Bill copied Ginny's hairpin so I can't even go down by a stunner to the head. We should put something in your hair, Harry. Or pierce your ear or something."

Harry blanched, he was fine with the protective clothing, but did not want a pierced ear. Ron offered another option, "Give you a grill? You know, like a rapper."

"Don't be ridiculous, Ron. You should take precaution too." Hermione tutted at him.

"Charlie said he got loads and loads of girls when he had his eyebrow pierced. Though a crow did rip it out of his face." Ron said speculatively, "But Bill said there's always one curious girl about his tongue piercing."

"We'll just do your glasses, Harry." Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron and Harry rolled his eyes internally at both of them. " She took a deep breath, "How much do we really trust Griphook?"

"Zero." Harry said, "I've had Kreacher try to tail him when he goes off with Bill. Kreacher can't really get by goblin magic, so I've got no idea what the hell Bill is up to, but he's spending an awful lot of time at Gringotts in the middle of the night."

Hermione glanced around, "He's researching in the library there about what's going on with Ginny, some of the most important magical books and the darkest ones are kept there." She looked guilty, "I found a journal and tried to read it, but it's all in Gobblygook. I think he might be up to something else."

"Why we wouldn't he talk to you about that?" Ron asked curiously.

Hermione gave him a look that indicated she thought he was an idiot. "It's complicated. If I ask him about that, then he can ask me about all of the secret planning meetings he's not invited to, but is perfectly aware are happening. We try to keep the war out of our time together."

Ron rolled his eyes at her. 'That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"You're not invited to our Beltane party anymore, Ronald." Hermione told him childishly. Harry hated when they got like this, when everyone had to go live in bicker city for days at a time, because he knew as it drove him mad to listen to them he would then join in.

"What?! You can't-" Ron started.

"Can we please act like adults? You two can't start this if we're going back on the hunt." Harry begged.

"Fine." Hermione said, "I've got to go check on Ginny anyway."

Harry shifted, "Do you think if I did my Occlumency exercises before it would help? If she did them? We could retest."

"No idea since she's connected to him too." She sighed at the look on his face, voice gentling. She was always the one to have to explain these things to her two emotionally stunted teaspoons of boys. "Harry, has it occurred to you that maybe there was a reason you didn't notice her sooner? That she had to work for you to even glance her way. You saw her daily and I saw that completely offensive list Draco Malfoy made ranking girls that made Ron blow his top and you look at Ginny. Yet you wanted Cho, you wandered hallways listening to Luna. With Bill it was the moment he talked to me, I actually fled him because I was so flustered at the feelings and I'd had crushes before."

She flushed at the openness, yes Harry had known about her crush, had comforted her, but never quite known how deep it ran. She left Harry to think about her words and headed for the apparition point, wondering if Ron even realized he was half in love with the young veela he'd carried into Muriel's and healed, for once confident and focused enough to not be affected by the beauty. She'd heard the girl laughing as Ron fixed her ankle, seen the look on his face when he came to get tea to bring her, seen how his shoulders weren't slumped, but proud when he'd told Hermione all of the healing training Bill and Charlie had given them paid off.

"How is it going over there?" Ron asked to cover their conversation as Charlie headed for them from the apparition point, Hermione turning to fall back into step with him.

Charlie rubbed his face, "To be honest, it's getting real weird over there. They've got it down to a system, You-Know-Who probably hasn't gone five minutes without either talking to Ginny or Ralph. We know he's reading the two way journal Ralph is writing in for Operation Gentle Soul Extraction, because he'll ask questions if he says a word about Ginny, so he's just feeding the beast from time to time."

"But how is Ginny handling it? She's ok, right?" Harry demanded again.

Charlie eyed him, "She gets overwhelmed at times, but it's a little like how you and Bill were, Hermione. On the flip side, she'll probably be the youngest Minister of Magic at this rate. She's got You-Know-Who wrapped around her pinky finger and is going a little nuts with power."

"I think Ginny and I should retest, Charlie." Harry glanced around for support, but found slightly thoughtful or sympathetic glances. Harry was silent, still looking slightly stubborn, "Charlie, will you take me over?"

Charlie sighed and put on his big brother voice. "No. Look, I get that kissing Gin might have stirred up some feelings, but do me a solid and back off. They've got something that works, focus on what you need to do."

There was silence and Charlie ran a hand down his face, "I'm supposed to ask if there's any specific time you need You-Know-Who completely distracted and for how long to do whatever secret mission thing."

The three shared glances, "Let us talk about it. We'll send her an owl if there is."

Charlie just nodded and headed for the house, calling back, "I wasn't going to tell Bill, you three little sneaks."

"No." Harry stated flatly.

Hermione and Ron shared a glance, "It might give us extra time to get away and back under wards. Gringotts will tell them there's been a break in and I'm sure He'll know what we were after."

"We can set up safety precautions for whatever it is she's planning." Hermione added, "Look, I'll go talk to her about it. We at least owe her a thank you for offering. You two go talk to Griphook, he's heading this way to make sure we're not planning to double cross him again."

* * *

"Muriel, what are you doing?" Fred asked curiously, watching her put her gloves on. "You're not allowed to go anywhere alone now, not after last time."

She rolled her eyes, "I've got my spare potion. That was just a tiny misunderstanding."

Fred cracked up, "Aunt Muriel, the term for that tiny misunderstanding is arson. Here, I'll go with you."

"I thought it was Beltane already and was helping them start their fire." She told him sweetly, "You want to go have tea with Augusta Longbottom? She's a bit out of your age range."

He got up anyway, he was on rogue Muriel watch, where she went, he went. "A bird's a bird."

"Get a coat, it's chilly in the Highlands." She was grabbing at him, looping her arm through his once he had one. "Grab a healer kit, Augusta wants me to check something for Alice."

He slung one over his shoulder and let her twist them to the safehouse the Longbottoms were at and gave gentle greetings. Muriel did her thing and frowned a few times, choosing to speak privately with Augusta about whatever it was. Charlie's patronus popped up in front of him on the gobstones board he was playing with a lucid Mr. Longbottom. "Healer assistance needed in RRR at Hogwarts. Neville looks like he got lashed."

"Neville?!" Mr. Longbottom asked in alarm, "I'm going with you."

Fred shrugged, he didn't care either way. He went to tell Muriel, he pecked her cheek. "Got to patch up at Hogwarts, have a good day and behave yourself."

"Never." She smiled at him, 'We're just going to have tea and plan a little something for Wizengamot appreciation day."

"Can't wait to hear about it. Would you like me to take Mrs. Longbottom as well?" Fred asked, glancing back at Mr. Longbottom who looked anxious to go. Muriel shook her head, but passed him her spare potion.

When they got into the Room of Requirement, Lavender was trying to clean the wounds on Neville's back, he knocked her backwards onto the floor sitting up so quickly at the sight of his father. He froze, his father approaching him with a huge smile, "Hi, Neville. You look just like your Mum."

"Dad?" Neville sounded so young and Fred started discreetly ushering the staring, confused crowd towards the door.

"We can't go out." Seamus said, voice thick watching his friend. Fred nodded to himself and slammed up privacy curtains around them, smacking them with silencing charms and set about to wait until it was time to heal him up.

"Why did Neville look like that?" A little Ravenclaw asked.

Fred paused, but it was Seamus who answered carefully. "Neville's parents were some of the biggest heroes of the First War, but it took a heavy toll."

"When did you get so diplomatic, Finnigan?" Fred asked lightly, pulling him into a new conversation to end the line of questioning.

Seamus gave him a grin, "When I realized none of the girls would talk to me, so Dean taught me."

Fred cracked up, "It's hard there for awhile, isn't it? Foot in mouth, left and right, toss a popper into her caldron to try and flirt only to realize she's now getting a zero and is covered in potion."

"How is Dean?" Seamus asked as Fred started checking the arm he had in a sling.

"Your mum is driving him a bit nuts, which is good for us because it means he's almost constantly on shift. What happened to you lot? Why'd Neville get lashed?"

"Held Snape at wand point and hexed him, Neville's lucky he's in that good of shape. Our graffiti adventure went awry the night that big bloke was running around the castle, glad he turned out to be on our side. We thought at first he was a Death Eater, but he just disarmed all three of us."

"It was really hot." Lavender said, "Is he seeing-"

"He's with Ginny." Fred rolled his eyes.

Lavender looked at Parvati, "We need to just leave the castle, go join the Order. That's worked for both Hermione and Ginny."

"The Order is not a dating service, Lavender." Fred told her, "If it was, I'd have been snapped right up. Handsome, successful, cheerful, clever, the list goes on, but I'm trying to be modest."

There was light laughter in the Room of Requirement for the first time in days, the joy of a reunion and Fred counted that as mission accomplished.

* * *

Bill felt like his hand was sweaty around the mallet they were carrying down to the beach, he squeezed Hermione's hand held in his other. "It'll be alright, love. You saw the research."

She nodded, but too looked a bit nervous. "But that's from the same book that didn't really explain what it did in the first place."

"Werewolves aren't a terribly studied creature." Charlie offered, the only one seemingly at ease, "Partially because of their danger, but also because most are solitary. If Fenrir hadn't gone around biting everyone on purpose it was predicted Britain would have been free of them in thirty years, since most communities just killed them."

"Dumbledore helped stop that behavior." Bill said quietly, "Took forever for him to be able to allow werewolf children at school, I think Remus is one of two that went. A lot parents just self-educate, trying to hide their child's condition. Alright, I think this is the spot. Hermione?"

She glanced at the location of the cave, "Yep, this where we got married. Wouldn't it make more sense to do it where you put the claim on me?"

"Well, I burned the bed, so that's not an option." Bill said sheepishly, "Sorry about that."

"Please, stop apologizing." She implored, "We just get a new bed every few weeks it seems."

"Better add it to the budget of household expenses." Charlie said with a wink, tossing the table he had over shoulder down. "Bill doesn't like when his budget isn't perfectly balanced."

Bill glanced at the book again, "Alright, says here since it's old magic the ritual is really simple. Hermione, take the necklace off and place it on the table."

She did and his skin itched, the wolf trying to rise, but not as bad as it had before. A glance at Charlie showed him scratching the back of his neck and unconsciously moving towards Hermione and the necklace. Bill grabbed his hand, he wanted it back on too. Charlie shook him off and pecked Hermione's cheek. "See, I get one claimed kiss."

Bill wanted to glare at him, but it had lightened the moment, "C'mere, love. I want a real kiss."

He kissed her, sending soothing love and reassurance down the bond, holding her close for a long time. He pulled away, whispering in her ear, "I won't hurt you without it on, love. I promise. Or we can redo it tonight, if you'd like."

"Let's see how this goes. Are we sure it won't just add Charlie back in when it's redone? Isn't it because you two share blood that he came in the first place?"

"Shouldn't, I didn't know to tell you take it off when I bit him because I didn't have any plans of biting the sneaky bastard." He gave her a slightly tighter hug, then let go with a light glare at Charlie.

Charlie just shrugged, "Did what needed to be done. Plus you're completely hilarious on that stuff. Alright so just smash it."

Bill picked up the mallet and motioned Charlie closer, "You've got to hold on too, I think." He grabbed it, "Count of three? One. Two. Three."

They smashed the mallet down onto the necklace and Hermione screamed, then pain rebounded into Bill through the bond. He felt like he was being ripped in half, as if his very essence was being taken from him, his meaning. It was over quickly and he blinked, he was face first in the sand, eyes gritty with it. Slowly, aching in every part of his body, he rolled over. Charlie's words drifting in, "Hermione? Hermione, are you alright?"

She too was on the ground, tears all over her face as Charlie pulled her into his arms. "Feels so empty, like I don't belong to anyone or anything."

Bill couldn't manage sitting, but shoved love and belonging, the completeness of their couple hood down the bond. She crawled from Charlie to him, laying down on his chest and burying in. He managed to get an arm around her. "You belong to me. Godric, that fucking hurt."

She nuzzled his neck, calming. Charlie looked thoughtful, "She screamed then you hit the ground and were at it for a few minutes. It was like it rebounded onto you. I just had a weird ache like when you're leaving home and know you'll be homesick."

He kissed her head. "Guess we know that vow I took is literal, love." He looked up at his brother and gave a relieved smile, "I promised to bear her pain. Help me sit up?"

They got him sitting, though he had to lean against Charlie to stay that way and started trying to get the sand out of his eyes. "I really wish being part werewolf came with a much clearer handbook and that we didn't have to be the ones to write it. Love, will you go back and grab me some soreness potions and maybe the firewhiskey? Check on Ron too, he looked glum and Harry wasn't sure how to comfort him."

"You could have just said you need to talk to Charlie, Bill." She pecked him with an eye roll.

"Sure, but this way I get things done." He responded with a wink.

She got up and ambled off and Charlie shifted, just transfiguring a back rest for him, so he could see. "What's up, Eldest?"

"They're leaving the day after tomorrow. I'm still going after them, but that means-" Bill started.

"That it's my turn to carry, I know. They're not little kids anymore, Bill, everyone is doing alright. Nobody's great, but we're all processing it." Charlie sighed, "Are you going to tell her about Fenrir?"

Bill shook his head, "No, it'll just terrify her to find out he's not dead. Not that he can possibly be in any shape to hurt her himself, not if what Remus said is true that they're just keeping him alive off of unicorn blood to keep the rule over the pack."

"Don't you think she deserves to know?" Charlie pressed back lightly, "Or at least to hear it from you?"

Bill's insides churned, he'd turned this over and over in his head again and again. "There's a reason we only get a chunk of the information for some missions, you know? Think of it this way, would Mad-Eye still be here if he hadn't just terrified Dung by repeatedly telling him how dangerous it was going to be? Would you and McGonagall been creative enough to survive that scrape if you'd been told upfront that it was a ninety percent chance you weren't coming back? There's a reason Kings and Remus deny certain missions to people with families."

Charlie was thoughtful, "I guess you're right. Ralph said something similar about not telling Ginny."

Bill rubbed his face, "It's going to destroy her and she's going to be mad at both of us for knowing and not telling her. How clear is it?"

"Still the same as it's been since I started screaming it at him in Hogwarts, he's gone by twenty-four. Let's just hope this one of the times I'm a shit Seer." Charlie threw a shell in anger. "He's proposing."

"He should just marry her." Bill argued.

"What so she can be a widow in less than two months?" Charlie shook his head, "This just sucks, you know? All of it. We're playing with people's lives and I hate it. I hate that on shift Dean and I had to decide what group of muggles to save, because we couldn't save them all."

Bill nodded, "Get some sleep tonight, Charlie. It'll look better in the morning."

"It fucking better." Charlie got up and pulled him to his feet. "Can you walk to the house?"

Bill tested, "I'll be fine."

At the house he went to find Hermione, wrapping around her from behind and resting his head on hers, just holding her for a long time without saying anything. She turned and wrapped her arms around him, "You ok, biscuit?"

"It feels like we're at the edge, doesn't?" He asked her quietly. "Everything's just been building and building."

She nodded into his chest, "Bill, if something happens I want you to know how much I love you, love this."

"I can think of a few ways to do that, love." He managed a wink for her, "You too, Hermione. I wish I'd said something sooner."

"Do you ever think of anything else?" She smiled and took his hand, heading for the stairs.

"When you're around, not really. It's always there in the background. Come, pretty wife, let's get you all reclaimed with a shiny new token." He followed.

"Remember the silencing charms." Ron yelled.

"I should keep a silencing charm on him." Bill muttered without any real rancor, slamming the door extra loud for him and pulling Hermione to him.

* * *

Harry fidgeted the cup of tea he hadn't taken a sip out of, while Hermione checked the bag. "I still don't feel right using Ginny like this. I'm sure we can get in and out without being noticed."

Hermione looked up, "It'll still throw a stealing charm, Harry. I don't feel great about it, but she volunteered and she'll be safe. It's just a bit of a sleeping draught, you know they took precautions. It's not like You-Know-Who has tried to hurt her yet."

Ron ate more eggs, "Yeah, Harry. Ralph and Charlie are both there, they'll be able to hear everything she's saying in the dream. She's got safe words to be pulled or if he starts trying to hurt her. She was cracking jokes about it."

A huge Clydesdale popped out in front of him, _Ginny's out and he's with her. Send word as soon as you're done so I can pull her._

Hermione swallowed, "That's the go signal. Polyjuice up boys and here the clothes for you, Ron. I'm gonna go peck Bill, I still feel so guilty for drugging him."

Harry dropped his hair in, watched it turn the color of grass on a quidditch pitch and chugged it, choking slightly and his body painfully reshaped itself. "Way better than the last times."

"I don't want to be a girl. What if I have to pee?" Ron muttered, following suit with his lilac colored potion. Harry watched in fascination as his height dropped to where he'd been in second year, red hair shrinking in and thick blonde locks growing out. He went to change.

"Are you ready, Griphook?" Harry asked the goblin, still not happy that Griphook refused to let anyone else carry the sword and wouldn't let it out of his sight. Hermione and Bill had tried to make a replica that was hiding in the beaded bag and Harry was really hoping they'd have a chance to exchange it.

"Yes, Harry Potter." They waited and Hermione could be heard shrieking at Ron about letting her do his hair. Eventually they reappeared and Ron's thick blonde locks were in a braid and he had a scowl on his face.

"I could've gotten the bra, she didn't even let me try. Can't be any harder than getting one off." He muttered to Harry and Harry loyally nodded as they walked to the apparition point.

Diagon Alley was almost empty, empty of everything, people, boarded up shops, empty of beggars. Knockturn Alley seemed to be the only real place with any activity near it. They were almost to the bank when they ran into Dolores Umbridge, heading away from it, who paused. "What are you two doing here? It's a holiday."

Harry wanted to snap that he could ask her the same thing, but thought on his feet, briefly flashing the execution order to search they'd gotten. "Last minute vault raids."

She narrowed her eyes and Ron added information, his voice a terrible imitation of a woman's. "Ones with suspected muggle artifacts. With that new law…"

"Oh yes, I'm very pleased that passed unanimously." She gave a girlish giggle and fluttered her hand, making eyes at the man Harry was. "I was so very flattered."

They started walking towards Gringotts, "You're very thorough in your work, Undersecretary."

Her beady little toad eyes gleamed, "Would you mind terribly if I came along? I do love being the first to know and we could put an article in the Prophet."

Hermione's voice was a bare hiss, "No."

Harry glanced at Ron, who glanced back as they walked. "There might be dangerous objects and I'd prefer not to get in trouble with Kingsley if anything were to happen to you."

"Oh, he won't be Department Head much longer." She said pleased. "I don't think the inquiry review will go his way." She gave a girlish giggle, "Perhaps you'd like me to put your name in?"

"Inquiry review?" Ron asked still in that high squeaky, voice. Harry had the vague thought they should have made him practice, he sounded like something was wrong with him.

"Oh, we haven't announced it. As some of the offices were reshuffled a box was found regarding his investigation into Sirius Black's whereabouts. I'm sure you remember him, mass murder." Harry's blood started to boil as she leaned closer to give them the gossip. "It indicates Kingsley either knew where he was, or was very incompetent and wasted lots of departmental resources on a wild goose chase."

They were almost at the bank when there was the feeling of something being shoved into Harry's back pocket, Hermione's voice a hiss. "Give one to her."

He dug what was there out and glanced to see he was holding several pieces of candy that he recognized as the latest, greatest, WWW invention. "Candy anyone?"

She smiled and took one with a coquettish thank you and he glanced at Ron, who was also reaching, slightly shaking his head. He made it look as if he was eating a piece too, simply hiding it in his hand.

It happened on the steps of the bank, she put a hand to her head. Harry asked, forcing himself to take her elbow to steady her."Are you alright?"

She shook her head, "Terrible headache just hit. I get them from time to time."

Ron was kinder in his stupid girl voice, "Perhaps you should just use the floo here and go rest. We'll send you an owl if we find anything."

She nodded and Harry dutifully escorted her into the bank and over to the floo goblins wishing it was to a horde of angry centaurs again. Glad to be rid of her. They stood in line and got to the counter, offering up the search warrant. "We've got a warrant from the Ministry of Magic to search the following vault."

The goblin stared at them, looking carefully and Harry realized they must have messed up somehow, maybe skipped a step? Darnit, why hadn't he grilled Tonks harder about these things worked. "Wands please."

Ron stilled his hand, "That's not required when on official Ministry business, as you well know. We'd like to get back to our holiday."

Thank gosh Ron knew a bit more about this than Hermione or he, probably from years at the dinner table listening to his Dad talk about his day. The goblin looked at them again and then called another goblin over, dropping into gobbledygook. They seemed to be arguing and Harry felt himself start to sweat, he bent to fix his shoe to cover it. Griphook's voice was so very low, "They know you are not who you say. One wants to let you in thinking it is against the regime, one wants to be left out of wizarding wars."

When he came back up, it had been decided and Harry gripped the borrowed wand hard in his pocket. "Bordor will show you to the vault, Aurors."

It was nerve wracking, unsure if they were being taken to goblin prison or not and awkward to get the invisible portion of their party into the cart. The ride was long and wild, only increasing Harry's heart rate as they went deeper and deeper to the old vaults. The cart started to turn one way and Griphook was off Harry's lap in a flash, throwing the other goblin from the cart and redirecting it onto a proper path.

"We could have just stunned him." Hermione said weakly and Harry suddenly wondered just why Griphook had been a goblin on the run. Griphook gave her a condescendingly, feral smile. Still, they deboarded at the Lestrange's vault and he opened it.

They really shouldn't have been surprised to get into the Lestrange vault and find Bill standing there, rucksack over his shoulder, idly cleaning his nails with a very wicked knife. He glanced up at them, "Oh good, you made it."

"Bill?!" Hermione sounded strangled as they rushed in.

"Don't touch anything. Tell me what you're looking for, you lot will set off the stealing charms." Bill said giving her a wink just as Ron stumbled into a pile of gold and it started to multiply.

"Fuck." Ron and Bill said it in unison.

"Gold cup! We think it's gold." Hermione was telling him trying to avoid the burning treasure.

"Hufflepuff's cup." Harry added panicking, why couldn't Ron stop moving? He glanced up, 'There! Up there!"

Bill started climbing for it, no treasure going off after him and grabbed it and slid back down. He shoved it in his rucksack and glanced at the door, where the edges were starting to glow. "Let's go. They're on their way, somebody just got killed."

He shoved them all out in front of him. Bill paused and nodded at Griphook, "Go well."

"The sword." Harry yelled, but Griphook was already taking off in a different direction. Harry started off after him, they needed it.

Bill grabbed him, shoving him ahead of himself, "No time."

He paused at the edge of the vault and Harry couldn't see what he did, but everything in the vault started to whir and smack into each other.

Then they were running for the lower caverns, swerving farther down following Bill who was trying to dig in his rucksack for something, pulling out a carpet. He flung it out before him and it hit the ground, "They've thrown the wards."

They swerved again and coming up to dragons, the sounds of yelling behind them. Bill shoved his rucksack at Ron. "Go. I'll hold them off."

Hermione tried to grab at him, but he shoved her at Harry, his voice a command. "Go, love."

Harry dragged her along, throwing spells at the dragon's chains as he went, following Ron's example of throwing reducto curses. Hermione was throwing spells behind her, before she staggered, "No! Give it back."

Harry glanced back and saw that some sort of huge shield spell get thrown up in the passage behind Bill. "Go, Hermione."

There seemed to be a huge amount of fighting going on behind the shield, flashes and flashed of light. "Climb." Harry shoved her up and kept pushing her higher, she was struggling. "Now. He's fine."

"My magic. He took it all." She was furious and borderline wailing.

As the dragon left the cavern they all watched as the spell broke and Bill got flung into a wall, Hermione crying out when he didn't get back up. They watched him be dragged off like a limp doll and Harry and Ron both crawled up the dragon to try and offer some comfort as she began to sob incoherently into the scaly hide.

* * *

A/N: Eeeek! I'd love to hear your thoughts, followers and new readers alike! Up next, we prepare for battle (and maybe a little beltane). We're under three chapters to go (possibly more depending on how the epilogues are structured).


	29. Beltane Battalions

A/N: Love the support, the speculation and getting to hear how your heart strings are getting pulled. Pulls mine :) Today we read about May 1st and the final hours before battle begins and before we find out just why Hermione has a unicorn horn. You've got a Beltane celebration and Charlie to lighten the seriousness of everyone else running around trying to prepare for a siege! There are about four different versions for the next chapter because there are quite a few characters whose fates are still up in the air, so last requests are welcome!

Narrators: Charlie, Ginny, Hermione, Bill, Muriel, Kingsley (claps for the new guy)

* * *

Beltane Battalions

"Hey. How's it going?" Charlie called, walking into the flat to see Ginny sprawled across Ralph's lap, a kitten curled on her back also sleeping. He set down his cage and watched Ralph eye it carefully.

"Any reason you have a hoard of bees?" He paused thoughtfully, "You should banish those, I don't really want to be stung to death."

Charlie glanced at his keep, "Nah, look they're making honey! I think anyway, they're less buzzy. Took me forever to produce them, pretty sure I'll say the charm in my sleep, but at least I didn't have to unleash them. Why is there a tiny cat?"

He shook his head, "Your Mum got instantly attached to the kitten when she went to see what the mewing was. Pretty sure it'll be a familiar for her. Ginny keeps trying to give it ridiculous names, so side with me on that." He patted the little cat, "Any of them notice you were following them with a cage of bees?"

"Hermione probably caught on, sure she just assumed it was Bill. Glad I didn't have to turn all of the Gringotts goblins into house elves, though. They think seeing a bee is like seeing the Grim." It had been the A emergency plan, just force all of the goblins to panic like nutters and run away, hopefully making them too scared to attack anyone and let the miscreant thieves escape unnoticed. Bill never sent the signal so he was optimistically assuming all went well, he'd seen the dragon go out with specs on it indicating it had three riders. He'd promptly sent them message after message indicating that under no circumstances should they try and link with the poor, tortured dragon they were on, because it would likely play with them before eating them. Told them that they needed to get off of it as soon as possible and do their best to try and not let it notice they were there at all.

"Thought they were just allergic, or was that another lie you told me?" Ralph asked him, setting aside another letter and peeking at his charge.

"Yup, mucks with goblin magic and makes them real pliable. How we quasi-enslaved them the first go around and de-wanded them. How's Gin doing? Want a sandwich?" Charlie started rummaging around the kitchen.

"On her dream date with Mr. Evil? Turns out she used to keep a tally of how many times everyone said 'Shut up, Ginny', 'Go away, Ginny' and you were the constant winner."

"Well that makes me feel like a great brother." Charlie kept slamming through the cabinets, feeling rather awful. He had felt a constant sense of frustration as a teen and distinctly remembered telling her to shut up on sight, probably before she'd even said anything, a thought crossed that he probably needed to apologize to Ron too. "Why don't you have any bread?"

"Gin couldn't sleep so we spent all night in the kitchen to keep busy since the tv is a mess after Fred tried to put in a movie and mucked it up. There's cucumber sandwiches in the fridge, cream puffs, crepe batter and you finally got your carrot cake, tosser." Ralph adjusted her blanket. "Got to use alohomora on the fridge, the monkey figured out how to open it."

Charlie was pleased to find he was right. He grabbed a few sandwiches, and peered into the dutch oven on the stove, thinking perhaps they needed to send Ginny on more dates with Lord Voldemort to continue this fantastic amount of being spoiled. "Not my fault you're whipped. Want a slice?"

"Godric, I was just teasing!" Ginny's exclamation was hurt as she jerked.

Ralph fidgeted with her and Charlie watched in alarm, but Ralph didn't pull her. "Why is there a comb in her hair? Merlin, is that stuck?"

Ralph looked incredibly guilty and Charlie wanted to crack up, he'd clearly tried to do something to contain her hair and failed miserably. "I'll take a slice. She's ok, just shot some reassurance at me through her lasso. So they all made it out alright?"

Charlie shook his head, "Bill didn't, but that wasn't his plan." He took another glance and sighed, "Why the hell is her hair tied in knots?"

"It kept hitting me in the face. Junior didn't like the post dragon hair cut your Mum gave her and grew it back out and the little stretchy band she wears on her wrist isn't there." He looked down, "Fleur said it would make it curly or something."

"Fleur hates Ginny, you prat. Gin is going to kill you when she wakes up and realizes she's got a comb stuck in her weirdly knotted hair. There's something seriously wrong with you if you thought that was a good idea." Charlie blasted him, wondering how on earth anyone could decide just putting a girl's hair in slip knots was a good decision. He had a feeling Ralph had just been sitting there fidgeting like mad as he listened in, trying to be supportive, but feeling helpless as hell.

"That explains why there was so much yelling. Haven't slept in three days and I'm losing my mind, tried to wash my hair with horseradish sauce by accident. Stuff burns like the seventh level of hell if you get it in your eyes. Gin blew a gasket at waking up and finding Fleur helping me try and get it out in the sink." He shook his head and took his cake. He looked thoughtful, "It's probably a good thing Ginny's French is pot."

"How the hell did you wash your hair with horseradish?"

"The monkey put it in the shower and I just grabbed a bottle. Get rid of those bees, prat." Charlie shook his head, he was keeping his bees, it had taken ages to produce so many of them and make them like him. Well, he was pretty sure they liked him, he'd brought them into existence after all and one had tickled his ear without stinging him.

"Once she's out you can sleep, I'll make sure she doesn't kill you. Keep charming your letters, weirdo." Charlie plopped down and began to eat, just realigning his completely out sister and tossing her feet in his lap balancing his plate on the back of her legs. "Why is she covered in pasta sauce?"

" _Accio_ ravioli." It flew across the flat and he caught it neatly in his mouth. "Seemed barbaric to just carry her around like a sack of flour and I got hungry."

For a time there was only Ginny's murmuring, her half of a conversation not quite making enough sense to follow without the rejoinders as they summoned more ravioli and ate little sandwiches, heedless of the mess they were making. Ralph fidgeted with her hair again, undoing a knot and redoing it. "I'm not proposing, no real point in pretending we'll have it. Maybe I should just dump her so she can be ticked at me and not feel bad."

Charlie didn't know what to say, how to mitigate a crap situation. No clue what to say to someone that was in love with his sister, how to tell him to try and be alright with the fact she's mumbling in what seems to be a rather chummy conversation with the depravity that was currently ruining the wizarding world. "Don't be a fool. She'd, you know, want to know."

It was heavy with the missing before Charlie hadn't said, but they both knew. Ralph didn't respond and he wanted to fill the silence. "How did your weird courtship counseling group go?"

Ralph looked completely obstinate, "Davies had a massive breakdown on realizing how many more days he'll be celibate and sobbed all over Hagrid. I got ripped into by Wood for not participating because I refuse to keep a feelings journal. They've all agreed if I answer one more question with 'it's private' I have to do the whole stupid group thing over again." He looked slightly guilty, "Did have a bit too much of Hagrid's hooch to handle the crying and burnt my courtship book, little blurry as to why I ended up so agitated."

"Probably because you drank Hagrid's hooch. That stuff is dangerous."

Ralph shrugged, "At least I can handle it. Davies and Wood went down like flies." He got a conspiratorial glance, "George was there last night. Turns out Angelina helped with one of Ginny's ritual things and thinks courting is so romantic and your Mum and Muriel have been encouraging her. Think he needs to show he can obey rules for once in his life and that it will make her family like him."

Charlie gave a glum nod, "Maybe it would. He wrote to her dad about taking him to lunch and just got his wanted poster mailed back in response. They only get to see each other because Angelina has a pretend second job."

"Ouch." Ginny started to flail, cries of pain pouring from her mouth and Charlie had to be the one to pull her while Ralph jerked madly, messing with the magical side. Poured the antidote to a sleeping draught down her throat, and shook her like crazy until her eyes opened.

He talked too much as he made the tea and set the little sandwiches and snacks down in front of two people who'd just been crucioed. Rambled as he made crepes nobody was going to eat, just to avoid watching them curl against each other. He tried to avoid looking, he'd seen Ginny cry out of frustration, hurt, sadness and fear as she'd grown up, but this was the first time he'd seen her weep with a quiet desolation as she buried her face into Ralph's shoulder, trying to hide it, still flinching from whatever rage the Dark Lord had been thrown into. He was in a full blown monologue to cover the bleakness as he forced calming draughts and potions for nerve damage on them, systematically untying the stupid knots in Ginny's hair, feeling incredibly helpless as she twitched and twitched. Her wilted words drifting under his own. Was this what it had been like for Bill when everyone had landed on his beach? Watching someone you care about hurting and knowing the only thing you can do is simply be there? Trying to figure out how many potions were too many?

Muriel came, took one look at the two of them trying to soothe her and got to setting things right. "Ginny, stop that and go wash your face."

"Aunt Muriel-" He tried to start and found himself on the receiving end of a glare that immediately silenced him.

"Go, Ginevra." Muriel put a small may bush on the counter and made a shooing motion at Ginny, who obediently disentangled herself from the encased grip she'd been in. Ralph rose too, hovering after her until Muriel rolled her eyes and slammed the bedroom door shut as soon as she was through directly in his face, "Stop mollycoddling her."

"Aunt Mury," He tried again and she shook her head deftly, eyeing the carrot cake and promptly cutting herself a slice.

"We knew Grindelwald's companion." She took a bite and glanced at the door, "Ginny can cry or she can try to stop a war." Another bite, "There's neither glory or fairness in what she's been dealt, but blubbering about it won't help a whit. She's not dealing with a gentle man, that's what this other one is for. To try and make it bearable."

Muriel wasn't a cheery person and whether it was due to age or nature, Charlie had no idea, but the sound of an opening door told him Ralph was going to ignore the old lady that scared him. Charlie knew his voice was overloud as he tried to divert the far too realistic conversation, "So who's making the oatcakes for Beltane?"

"Molly and Percy, I believe the twins are set to building the bonfires, terrible call that is. Your mother and Fred have to be supervised on shifts now, broke some wands and when Remus said there wasn't space for more captives they took them to a muggle police station. Going to break the International Statue of Secrecy, Kingsley says, utter rubbish since the muggles would never believe them."

"I'm sure that went well." Charlie muttered to get a smile in response.

"They were very pleased with themselves upon returning, George is rather put out he missed the fun. I believe Fred planted muggle weapons on them to make sure they got arrested. I'd say rein her in, but I think it's how Molly is grieving." She looked confused and he abruptly realized she'd been flickering since she'd arrived, "Which one of them only has one ear? Or is that another one of you?" She looked around, "Charlie, where is the good looking young man that came with me?"

"George has one ear. Aunt Muriel, did you bring your little yellow potion? You need to take it." This was exactly why Muriel wasn't supposed to be running off alone any more. "Do it Aunt Muriel, I've got to go let in whatever Order member lost their paper and can't get under the Fidelius."

She dug around and eyed it, "This isn't St. Mungo's approved, I'm not taking it."

"Then why is it in your purse? Aunt Mury, it helps you remember things." He moved over and uncapped it, "Just a sip, for me? I'll make you chamomile tea."

Bazinga. She sipped, still eyeing it very suspiciously. "Charles, if this is poison I won't forgive you. I know you want that billiards table and-"

It took a Herculean effort to not roll his eyes as he put on his shoes, "Aunt Mury, I don't want your billiards table and I certainly don't want to poison you. Not currently in the market for one, living in a tent and all."

She looked thoughtful, before perking and sipping, deciding to go with him. "I've got pet dragons now, very helpful in keeping dementors away. Archie Longbottom asked if I'll watch his llamas while he goes on holiday, but I don't know if dragons like llamas and they might scare them."

"The dragons will eat them." Charlie told her gently, knowing this process took several minutes and promptly decided to lie his face off when she wouldn't notice he was terrible at it, "Please do stay away from your new pets, very far away, they've both got dragon pox and it's taking me quite a while to treat it."

"Highly contagious that is." She started and quieted at their return after a quick glance showed him whoever had come had left, eyeing the clinginess and opting not bring back up the mollycoddling, pouring Ginny tea instead. Her voice was clinical and welcoming at the same time, her tones gentler than she'd used minutes ago. "Why did he hurt you, child?"

Ginny picked at her skirt and was quiet a long time, "It's private." A glance told him that Ralph had a better idea of what had happened due to the magical tie he'd put on her to monitor, but also very much didn't want to discuss it.

"Can I get you anything, Aunt Muriel?" He paused, as Ginny sat and took in the situation, "Oh you've already got tea, excellent. Well done, C."

"Molly should be here soon so we can explain Beltane warding properly to Ginny. You'll have to leave, you can go fetch the dragon that got out." Muriel informed him and while Ralph didn't leave, Charlie did in a rush to attempt to contain the next catastrophe.

* * *

Bill tried to shift his arms and couldn't, still finding it rather tiresome to be tied up when he didn't even have a wand. "I believe you've dug through my brain enough to verify that I was under the goblin version of the Imperius curse."

"It's procedure, Weasley." The wizard didn't seem to particularly care and certainly had done a less thorough job. Bill had gone through Occlumency training both for Gringotts and the Order and the interrogator they'd set him with was barely out of Hogwarts, just only able to even try and look in his mind. He'd really rather just handle the goblins than this kid. "Griphook was a nasty piece of work, not surprised he thought he was high enough to do that to a wizard. Must have really let your guard down."

"Goblins and wizards are equal. Or they should be anyway." Bill knew they were listening, knew they were right outside the door fighting over exactly what to do with him. "What happened to Griphook anyway?"

"Didn't make it far, got greedy and tried to steal from another vault. He's dead, think they cut his head off." The other wizard shrugged, but held up a cup of water for him to drink out of. Bill felt vaguely bad, but also hadn't been unaware of just exactly what he was harboring. Goblin law was very eye for an eye, so to end up heavily wanted on the run Griphook had certainly done some serious crime, which is why Bill had bound him to a magical contract very early on in his stay. He'd taken severe pains to ensure he was never alone with anyone in the house to the best of his ability, not just the highly wanted, but everyone else who had passed through Shell. The only person he'd shown an ounce of kindness to was Luna, who regularly visited to chat and for some reason knew some goblin comfort food recipes.

Bill glanced up as the door opened, one of his eyes was was almost swollen shut, but he could tell it was a few of the elders. "William Weasley, your case has been dismissed."

Thank Godric, he'd made sure they got out, but also made sure he didn't throw anything to truly hurt the goblins or wizards that had come after them, just tossing blocking spell and after blocking spell. His stomach dropped at the next words, "You will however be the Gringotts representative to inform the Lestranges their vault has been tampered with."

Bloody hell, that was a death sentence right there. He nodded, swallowing down the fear, he'd gotten Hermione out safely. Fred would take care of her, she was somewhere under wards without a scratch on her, that had been the goal. Godric it ached though, to even think there would never be another chance to tell her what she meant to him, to not see her glance up and smile before excitedly drawing him into a discussion about whatever she'd been reading and finding they'd talked for hours. To not find himself half awake because her hair was tickling his nose, shove it back down and try to regain some of the covers she'd stolen. That it would be someone else who got to hear her mutter 'What an idiot,' under her breath as she flipped through the paper, it had very much been his favorite part of breakfast last summer. Wandless, he was taken there and the furious anger at seeing the woman who had tortured his wife, who had cackled as she carved into her arm, was surprisingly steadying. He had been the one to tend to Hermione when she had been so vulnerable and broken, had been the one to hold her as she rediscovered her strength. "How is your little mudblood wife?" Delighted laughter, "All better?"

No, he was absolutely not going to speak to this vile excuse for a person. He took a deep breath, if he was going down this awful woman was too. "I need to speak to the proper owner of the Lestrange vault. Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy."

"Because?" Lucius Malfoy started, it was technically in Narcissa's name due to all of the Azkaban stays of their morally confused family.

"Gringotts would like to inform and apologize about the vault disturbance." It wasn't a total snap, but it was close and he knew Lucius was recalling their last tete-e-tete where without Dumbledore's convenient intervention would have ended very badly over the fact he'd pulled the disturbed diary and familial insults.

Narcissa was shaking and simply wilted into a chair, one of the Lestrange brothers freezing and Lucius looked dumbstruck. Bellatrix began shrieking, "What are you talking about? Restrain him!" She drew her wand pointing at Bill.

"Shut up." Narcissa commanded her, "Unless you want us all killed."

"Give him-" A wand waved and Bellatrix was silenced, rapidly hit with a stunner, followed quickly by both her husband and his brother.

Narcissa Malfoy took a deep breath, "Thank you, Lucius. They won't help the situation." She snapped her fingers and a house elf appeared, "Get Veritatum. Mr. Weasley would you like any refreshment?" She turned eyes to him, then back to her husband.

Lucius, still looking heavily out of sorts, eyes wide with fear as he clutched his wand. "Should we wake the Dark Lord? What are we going to tell him? He was very specific about that vault."

Bill's mind worked rapidly, sorting through various ways he would be able to get out of here alive and motioned at his goblin keeper that he should go. The little goblin opted to go outside, indicating he would wait and Bill didn't blame him in the least. Bill really hoped that the Dark Lord was as obsessed with Ginny as he seemed, because that was the only way he could think of to handle this situation, because he had no doubt in his mind Bellatrix would kill him as soon as she woke. "Wake him, I've need to speak with him."

"What is the reason for this?" He was not happy to be woken from his date and Bill swallowed, then told himself he'd bolded himself out of worse situations before. Maybe they were at the tip of his tongue at the moment, but he knew he'd clevered his way out of some terribly dangerous situations both curse breaking and with the Order.

"I was dispatched by Gringotts to discuss a vault."

He eyed both how pale the Malfoys were and opened his mouth and Bill soldiered on, "-And to inform you that to spend time with my sister I request you file the proper paperwork, as she currently is being courted and doesn't want her reputation damaged." He gave Ginny a mental apology before promptly throwing her under the bus and lying his face off, "Ginny would prefer a more formal relationship."

There was a pause, before he smiled. "Ginevra requested it?"

"Read my mind if you want to." Bill brought the long conversation he'd had with his sister about her offering the mental dream date to the forefront of his mind, her stubborn arguing that if he was going to be fixated on her she should understand why, that he wouldn't lay a finger on her. He felt him trolling through it, felt his intense scrutiny and pure delight at Ginny's earnest words of genuinely wanting to get to know him, wanting to find the friend she'd once had. A frown at her sailor like rejection and verbal abuse of Charlie and Harry at the insinuation she was allowing herself to be a thing to be used, that she would ever allow herself to be treated like the women who worked the nights. A deeper frown at Hermione's forcible intervention and the fear filled conversation Bill had heard between the two.

"I'll speak to my Ginevra and send you the rules along with the paperwork, she isn't fond of some of her current ones." Bill internally sighed and cursed Charlie for being completely ridiculous when he'd gotten to be in charge in his attempts to make the entire thing about himself.

"I set the rules." Godric, did he have a concussion? Or a death wish he didn't know about? Why wouldn't his mouth stop? Was he channeling Charlie? Was this what his father had meant when he'd told him being Head of Family settled in and took you over sometimes? Those damn vindictive goblins must have done something to him while he was out just because he'd fleeced them at cards last time. "They will, of course, be different given the situation."

At least he'd phrased it nicely, not just blurted out that her current suitor hadn't tortured anyone so very much didn't need a rule list explaining the basics of human decency. Lord Voldemort seemed almost amused, "Narcissa, please show our guest out, begin the paperwork and send Yaxley to find Ginevra a rabbit for a pet. She is aching for her own small familiar."

"Ginny hates bunnies, one of ours bit her in the face when she was small." Bill offered him, wondering why on earth he was doing it and not just running away now that he'd been dismissed. He quickly came to what senses he had and followed Mrs. Malfoy's tight clip.

"Mr. Weasley are you purposefully bleeding on my floors?" She sighed.

He glanced down, he was rather bloody, cuts oozing. He had a vague memory of being smacked with a mace in the initial interrogation, before he'd managed to get across the point to the new overzealous security goblins that he was a Gringotts employee and properly assigned. "Goblins aren't proficient in human medical attention, my apologies."

He was almost out of there when he was stormed by Bellatrix Lestrange, dragged back in and forced to take the truth serum by the woman he truly thought was unhinged. Even if he was getting much needed healing at the Dark Lord's request. He turned his focus to choosing his words carefully during the upcoming interrogation. "What did the creature take?"

"Nothing." It was the technical truth, he had been the one to climb the treasure to take the cup, as allowed by his job.

"Why did the goblin flee?" Bellatrix demanded, smacking him, assuming he'd been the one to stun her. Fingers twitching on her wand in some attempt to show him she had no issue using an Unforgivable curse on him. He already knew that, had spent enough interrupted nights holding Hermione trying to figure just how you could do that to someone else.

"The goblin had just murdered another one." Bill said carefully.

"Are you saying this is all due to a greedy little goblin?" Narcissa demanded. Her eyes narrowed, "That vault requires a wizard to break some of the protective charms."

"I was the assigned curse breaker for the vault and was put under the goblin version of the Imperious curse." Bill just wanted to get the hell away from Malfoy Manor. "Had it happen three times now. One bad apple ruins the bunch."

"Where is Harry Potter?" Bellatrix asked intensely, eyeing her Lord who had taken another sleeping potion.

"I have no idea." Bill could look at his watch, but that would only tell him where Hermione was. He didn't particularly want to go out like Rufus Scrimgeour had, but he would if he had to.

It went on and on, and when Bill thought he was going to be tortured or killed, he was simply released at the Dark Lord's immediate command and Bill would never be told the little sister he'd thrown under the bus had come to his rescue very much at her own expense.

* * *

"I may be be fascinated with you, but I do not love you, my sweet Ginevra."

Ginny looked away from him, surprised at how much those words hurt, how much they dug into her. It wasn't that she wanted him to love her now, but once she did and that part of her heart rolled over in pain, because she had loved him. Loved him blindly, cared and fretted over him even when she was scared witless at missing trance like hours, terrified of the things he was asking her to do she still had loved him, had thought if they wrote enough she could save the troubled boy stuck in her diary. She had been a little fool, but she had been his little fool.

His hand on her cheek was warm as he turned her back to look at him, taking in the stubborn chin and wet eyes and that handsome visage of evil made a confession that was a concession, "I don't know how."

"I'll teach you." She promised him, her insides softening at this man who had never known love, who if he had, perhaps would have been different. He was awful, a stain on humanity, he was everything that was unlovable, but she had loved him and now she pitied him. She had loved him enough to drag herself down to the Chamber of Secrets to die for him, had poured all she was into that diary, given him everything. She looked away again, back at the past, "Love is a curious thing, Tom, it doesn't listen to reason." She swallowed, "Even when I realized what was happening and tried to get rid of the diary, I _missed_ you."

"I missed you too, Ginny." It was the first time since their renewed connection he'd called her by her preferred name and a tingle went down her spine followed promptly by a shudder. This mix of pity and understanding she felt for him too was a curious thing.

"Of course I had hungered to meet Harry, my eventual downfall, but he was incredibly disappointing. Just a boy, like any other boy and he had done that to me? To me? I do apologize sweet, sweet Ginevra, for taking my anger out on you."

Ginny said nothing, there was no reason to relive those nightmares or hours spent wandering the chamber with her brain being angrily stabbed to Harry's name. She leaned instead into the little magical lasso she could feel around her, the comforting feeling of an arm resting on her shoulders and Charlie's faint cursing at something.

"Ginevra, they're trying to wake me." He said it lightly and her mind began to race, that meant whatever they were up to had gone wrong. She managed a smile, his returning one was calculating as he watched her. "I'll stay for a price, my Persephone."

"What price?" She queried, trying not to show any fear, because this devil in front of her was in no way tamed or predictable. So many of his followers he had ensnared during moments of weakness, promises of power and glory.

"A kiss." He said it gently, that angel face smiling at her with anticipation.

Bloody hell, this was a slippery slope, still a small part of her thrilled at the idea and she wanted to shake sense into her eleven year old self. She squeezed the hand she was holding at his smile and lifted it, giving it a peck, not expecting the resounding, angry smack that knocked her to the ground. She groaned it out angrily, "I was just teasing." She pushed herself up a little, "Has nobody ever teased you before?"

"I am not the butt of jokes, Ginevra." It was angrily said, but all the same he bent down and helped her back up with gentle hands.

"I happen to enjoy laughing." She rubbed at her face, "We've got to work on your anger management skills. You promised you weren't going to hurt me and that hurt. You don't just hit people, Tom."

"No, I normally torture or kill them, Ginevra." He was still angry, but relaxing into enjoying her outrage.

"Also problematic." Ginny muttered it, before eyeing him, he seemed bemused. She didn't know just what she'd done to get the karma of being tasked with trying to civilize a Dark Wizard with the volatility of either no emotions or the extreme emotional reactions of a small child. "We've talked about this, Tom. You've got to start behaving yourself or I'll just have to turn you permanently off in my brain."

"You would _miss_ me, so just stop with your moral high ground empty threats." He gave her that charming half smile and flirtatious wink, fingers tracing what he'd just done.

"Actually, I really wouldn't. You see, before all of this I had a nice thing called privacy, no being constantly watched over by people who are worried that I'm being emotionally abused by a mentally unstable man. I could do real neat things, like go outside, which I haven't been allowed to for days." Her sarcasm deepened, "I could even get crazy by washing my own hair, which I'm not allowed to now because you had a hissy fit and threatened to make me drown myself." To be honest she didn't mind that part, the scratching of someone else's nails along her scalp felt very nice.

"If you would simply cooperate, you could walk and picnic in the gardens all you desired. I've even offered to let your friends stay, Ginevra." He was scolding her and she rubbed her cheek again, wiping the blood from it.

"They send their regrets, Malfoy Manor has a surprisingly bad reputation as a holiday spot." At least this time she was enough in control of herself to not outright laugh at his genuine, but completely inappropriate offer to kidnap her friends so she would have company while he plotted.

He couldn't stop the corners of his lips for upturning slightly at her impertinence. "I believe moments ago you were lecturing me on behaving myself, Ginevra. Perhaps you should eat your words?"

She flipped her hair, "Tom, if you were just your nice and charming version you could have a lot more followers with half the effort and if you didn't kill them in fits of rage, you'd have more left. My snark and sass are harmless."

"Hegemony doesn't deal in niceness, my Persephone. People like having something to hate, it gives them an outlet for their anger." He turned her cheek and examined what he'd done, "Many of my followers take great pleasure in pain, in causing it, in being punished with it, in seeing it. You've felt the high of battle, no?"

"I didn't want to hurt anyone, just wanted them to get away from me." To get away from her and her dragon, to get away from her as she tried to make it Mrs. Tonks' wards.

"Yet you did without thinking twice, didn't you? I watched the memories of my surviving attack force of your dragonback adventure, you were something to behold, throwing much harsher curses than McGonagall. Saw you blast a group with vicious bats. Perhaps I should ask you to replace all of the followers that got damaged or killed with all of your _niceness_." He looked thoughtful as his wand waved over her cheek, healing it, "Tell me, my sweet Ginevra, what is the difference between when I kill someone and you ordering a dragon to do your dirty work? The delineating line in the sand that says I am evil and your disgusting suitor was merely brave in battle?"

She took a moment to mull it over, to not blurt, these were the moments she saw him as a friend, a stimulating conversationalist who challenged her to think. Whether she liked it or not, he was brilliant and often pushed her to mental limits, had spent so many hours tutoring her through her diary. "It's the aftermath, Tom, the regret that courses through you as you wonder if you did kill someone and what that means for you. Whether you could have aimed different and how even when you think it's forced, there's doubt. I wake up and wonder if I was the one to throw the jinx or if it was Oliver. Making peace with yourself is hard, Tom, and it's different for everyone. Bill gets meditative as he does his laps, Ralph does however many Hail Marys he got at confession and that works for him, but I don't want to sit in a booth and talk to a stranger about my emotions and misdeeds."

"No, you chose to write to one until I was a stranger no more." He gave her a half smile, though his eyes were filled with anger he did not lash out at the mention of Ralph. He had passed her little test and was learning, was trying to control himself and she smiled at him as a reward.

That didn't mean she was done with her rant, "You kill wantonly, when you're annoyed or bored or whatever. Do you ever think about what you've done to their families? What it's like for me not to have my Dad anymore?"

"I didn't have a family, Ginevra, so no." He twined their fingers together and she looked away, "Darling Ginevra, I get allowances. I supported your constant inane childish drivel for months."

She flushed and he smiled, "Would you like me to quote it?"

"No. You were trying to steal my soul, so you deserved it." She quite frankly thought he did. She had written everything from her deepest secrets and fears to jotting down the simplest reminders. A sudden thought occurred to her that perhaps it might have contributed to his deep seated hatred of both Harry and Ralph, for having to hear about them constantly, every interaction with Harry, Ralph and Charlie's terrifying and funny initial letters from dragon tamer training. She wondered if Tom found it ironic at all that he had been the one to comfort her when that New Years she had a breakdown after being introduced to Ralph's extremely pretty, but very volatile veela girlfriend who caused a giant scene over not believing that was the Ginny he wrote to. It had all been horrendously embarrassing. Wondered how much of her soul she'd given him that night as he soothed her tears and dropped her into memory after memory to supposedly distract her from her first little heartache.

He gave her a merry laugh, "I suppose that's fair." He looked off into the distance for a moment, "It appears I need to wake, I have a visitor on your behalf."

What on earth? He grabbed her hand, "Wait for me? You owe me that, Ginevra, for whatever little game you're trying to play."

She gave a nod, maybe at the very least she wouldn't wake up looking like she hadn't slept. She could think and enjoy this small amount of privacy, curled happily in her magic lasso.

* * *

Hermione was quiet, had been extremely quiet as they set up camp, silently starting the fire and trying to alleviate their well meaning, but compressor like concern. They'd taken to talking quidditch to fill the night after they'd run out of talking about their adventure, about stealing a dragon and being stuck with another horcrux to destroy, carefully avoiding discussing Bill. She knew he was alive, that he had been hurt and at one point scared. Ron glanced at the darkening sky, "We should do Beltane. Not like we're people that don't need extra warding."

She shared a glance with Harry, neither of them had ever been to a true Beltane. Hogwarts had a feast, followed by dessert at the huge bonfires for each house and the professors warded. Aside from courting couples who warded, Beltane went much like Halloween. She had very much been looking forward to it, had spent ages on her runes for Bill, had loved the long discussions they had held on choosing which ones to share, what ones they would create as a family tradition. Harry broke the silence, "Erm, Ron, what exactly do we do? There was a festival in Surrey, but that was the last place the Dursley's would ever go so Aunt Petunia just complained about it."

Ron blinked, "Well, normally there's a pretty big party and you lead cows and carry any seeds you're going to plant around the two fires. Then everybody eats oatcakes and whatever they've set to roast, before they get sloshed off of mead while you ward and dance. Mum was almost always May queen because of how many of us kids she'd had, you want a fertile one. So Mum and Dad would do extra warding for people trying for kids or afraid of having a squib. There's a maypole and dancing for the kids, usually a ton of accidental magic happens when they paint runes." He smiled ruefully, "All of us Weasley spawn made the muggles think the northern lights were being seen over England because we got so excited at the crackling driftwood fires one year and blew the colors into the sky."

Hermione smiled, "Muggles think the walls between the magical world and theirs is extra thin on feast days, that more magic exists and ghosts rise. My gram in Scotland is very superstitious about it, says the strangest things happen there."

Harry glanced around, "Guess we should build another-" He let out a strangled cry and fell backwards.

"Ron!" Hermione cried out, rushing over, trying to make sure Harry hadn't fallen on the fire. "Ron I think he's back in You-Know-Who's head."

Harry was shaking and when his eyes opened they were panicked, "He knows. We've got to get to Hogwarts. Get there now. Hermione is there anything else that can kill a horcrux that would be easier to get to than the basilisk fang?"

She shook her head, fear coiling. They put out the fire and didn't bother with the tent and Hermione felt her insides shake, she wanted to plan, they needed to plan and there was no time.

* * *

Ginny felt herself tremble at the edges as she drew her wand across his skin in Beltane warding, her mother and Muriel had not been exaggerating when they'd sat her down and awkwardly, but determinedly tried to explain the rawness and closeness that went into warding as a couple. The runes and spells she should use, the ties of happiness and balance, of gentleness and understanding on top of what she would spell for his personality and magic. She had never known you could feel so overwhelmingly vulnerable and protected at once, that the smell of burning herbs and fire would be permanently linked to this intense feeling as she bound promises into the designs she drew ghostlike onto him. They hadn't been able to explain it would feel like he was tracing vows onto her, pledges burned with his magic tingling and seeping into her skin, flowing down every strand of hair she had. She knew he felt it too, the charming, but overwhelmed, smile she was getting as he too had never warded as a couple, "Sweetheart, I-"

"Shush." She cut him off, "You're not allowed to talk." She kept tracing and when she was done laughed at how discombobulated he looked, goosebumps all over like he was a freshly plucked chicken that didn't know what to do with himself. Little champagne like giggles bubbling up in her as she fed him the traditional oatcake and sips of mead. He laughed too, sensing her thoughts as he messed with the wireless for the dancing, frowned at the traditional music and promptly shifted it to something more modern.

He pulled her into the dance, hands interlinked as he pulled her through the circuit again and again, twisting close and away, twirling farther each circuit from the candles and the fireplace. A fleeting thought if the happiness rune he'd put on her had been perhaps just a touch too strong, nobody was allowed to be this happy with everything going on, not with the day they'd had. She pulled a flower from her crown and stuffed it behind his ear, stealing a kiss. Farther yet until they were at the edge of firelight and her heart began to race as he reached for her bracelet, lips brushing hers, smiling nervously against her as he yanked twice. Her heart stopped, she knew what was in those two little bubbles, the promising gift.

She looked down and grinned at him, deliberately popping them so the ring fell into his hand. He gave her a grin back, "Ginny, I-"

"Yes!" She cut him off, too excited to let him ramble and somehow drag dragons into it. She'd already heard him try and practice on Charlie, anyway. Charlie's decision that he should probably just write a letter, because he was even more hopeless than Bill had been. She gave him a sheepish smile. "I peeked."

He gave a small chuckle, his face lit with happiness as he started to slip the ring on, "Not even going to let me ask? Don't want me down on one knee?"

Her heart fluttered and soared at seeing the ring there, promptly dragged dragons into it herself. "You asked when you stole a dragon to follow me." She kissed him.

"Had to do that." He murmured against her lips, still smiling and she was grinning right back.

"You asked when we got matching tattoos." Another kiss.

"So should I ask McLaggen too?" He teased and she laughed, trying again.

"You technically asked when you got permission to court me." She murmured back.

"Well that was decidedly an accident." He grinned and she lightly hit him, twisting her arms back around his neck as he swayed her, lips gentle as his magic twining deeper into hers, twining so deep it ran into her veins.

"If you're going to be stubborn about it, you can ask." She squeezed his neck as she let go and grabbed their Beltane torch, his hand winding around hers, his other pulling her close as he moved them towards the fireplace, still half dancing.

He pressed his forehead to hers, eyes burning into hers just at the edge of the firelight, the heat from the fire close enough to feel almost burning on her skin, "Join your magic with mine tonight?"

"Yes, but that's not the question you're supposed to be asking!" They had already agreed on that, already decided it would allow her to turn Tom off without him having to be right there. She was impatient to hear the real question now, feeling those little champagne bubbles rising in her in excitement.

There was a peck at her abrupt shifting of wants, his fiddling the ring he'd already put on, his voice little more than a whisper and a want. "Marry me?"

"Yes." Hers too was tremulous with emotion, a soft exhale, too moved to be more in this flickering firelight.

He pressed his lips into hers gently, moving as they lit their first Beltane torch together, the torch that they would use to light their hearth and his magic wound and wound with hers, burned and twisted, melting like lava into each other. They managed to get the torch set into its stand and shove the journal wrapped in some of their letters onto it to burn before tumbling to the ground. They were burning, blinding and twisting as the Beltane torch took it and they went from two to one. It was all around her, the magic, the love, the words floating on parchment, the give and the take. The crushing completeness almost too much to bear as they burned together. When Ginny could think again, she was yet a different Ginny. Completely his Ginny; his Ginny through her magic, through her bones, through every letter she'd written or read. She felt their magic twist and tested out yet a new deepness that was flowing through her veins, drowning her in devotion.

"Oi. If you two are done blasting me with bonding magic, get to Hogwarts. They're about to be under siege." Percy was tense, having apparently shown up sometime during the bonding. "Robinson, you're tasked with handling incoming dragons."

They just stared at each other and he kissed her once more, before he managed to get them both off of the ground. There were no words yet, just crazy smiles and falling in and out of sync with each other as he steadied her legs that felt like they should belong to a newborn colt. Percy pecked Ginny's cheek, "You always did want to be a Beltane bride."

Was she a bride? She had no idea, there had been no verbal vows, no attempts to try and make him wear a morning suit and pick out flower arrangements. Just falling to the ground. All she knew was just that he was there now, not just at the edges, not just in the magic, he was there in the sense she would never again have to turn her head to see where he was. For the first time she truly understood what Hermione had been trying to tell her about what it was like with Bill, how the aching simplicity of it made it excruciatingly hard to explain. "Now get hopping."

Ralph kissed her as he tucked a dragon riding jacket over her dress, replaced her may crown with flying goggles and if she was distractingly affectionate as they finally returned to HQ and he harnessed her very excited dragon, he didn't complain. If on the ride to Hogwarts they not only came up with a strategy, but shared the little moments through the new dragon like sync, nobody but them would know. By the time they were dismounted and faced with reality the besotted Beltane couple fell away and left waiting warriors in place.

* * *

Muriel was standing in the staff room at St. Mungo's, ignoring the pitying looks from healers who thought she'd just wandered back in her dementia. No, Muriel was here for a reason, the call had come through the galleons, through the patronuses, all veils of secrecy of what their group did falling away in the emergency. "Call a staff meeting."

"Head Healer Prewett, you retired." It was gently said by someone who'd been there long enough to remember when she ran the place. She gave him a scathing look and pulled her wand and for the first time in seventeen years slammed the emergency call, the pull for every available healer to get to the staff room to understand just what mayhem their night was going to be and the protocols to be used. Last time she'd used the heavy handed gesture was the night Peter Pettigrew had heedlessly murdered twelve muggles and injured three dozen more by blowing up half a street. Last time she had spent her night up to her elbows in blood, cursing Sirius Black, laughing madman who hadn't even resisted arrest. She never did understand why Peter had felt the need to do it, over just run.

They came, in drove, in trickles, in confusion, she was no longer a Head Healer, had never been for the younger ones. She didn't care, shoulders stiffening her back out of the hump it preferred at her age and eyed them, waiting until enough were there. "Thank you. We are in a state of emergency. Hogwarts will be attacked at midnight and likely go under siege. Voldemort-" gasps, she soldiered on, "-has a large attack force heading that way. Healers will be needed on site."

There was a pause of shock, several hands raising to chests in and she had to shout over the noise of their murmuring, "I'll take volunteers with me, but St. Mungo's needs to prepare for the incoming. We'll be passing off what we cannot treat on site via floo. You will treat all that come through, no preference given to blood status. Understood?"

"But Healer Prewett-"

"If you don't want to, go home and revoke your healer's oath." She cut the little worm off. "Divide yourselves, those coming, those staying to take incoming and keep this place running. There's no judgement in either choice. You will likely want to bring in who you have on call."

She turned away and let them chatter, facing her prodigy, Bliant Beecham. "You've got a family. You should stay."

He looked torn, but swallowed, "How long will I have them if You-Know-Who wins? I'll come. Let me settle the trauma ward, divide the potion stocks and ensure we've got beds and supplies on both sides."

She nodded approvingly and waited quietly, chugging her potion as she eyed the room she'd spent so many hours in. It hadn't changed much and that was a small comfort, her thoughts drifting to the other staff room she'd spent time in during Grindelwald's rise. So long ago, so terrible she was here having this awful conversation for the third time. "It's time, if you're going to Hogwarts follow me. We need to get under the wards before Minerva finalizes them."

They followed, some determined, some professional, some shaky, some white as sheets, but they followed all the same. They'd settled with the department mates, some had drawn straws, some had immediately volunteered, some had the healer's oath so finely engraved on their bones they followed that. It wasn't a large number, not too many were on shift at this point in the night, but she smiled at them, not a reassuring smile, but a smile all the same. They carried bandages and potions, gentle spirits and hope. "We'll follow what Madam Pomfrey says, it's her wing."

"What if they storm the Hospital Wing?" A terribly mousy girl asked, young and so nervous and Muriel guessed she must still be in her training period.

"I doubt even Lord Voldemort would go that far, but we've been promised an Auror for protection." Muriel told her gently, they weren't duelists, they healed, they didn't hurt. It just wasn't in their nature and she had a feeling they would be too busy to duel even if they could. "You'll hopefully be bored and just folding bandages with my nephew Fred making you laugh."

Muriel would be very wrong.

* * *

Kingsley was on a similar mission to Muriel's as he recalled Ministry employees for an emergency meeting and demanded public access to the wireless stations. He spared a glance for the Minister of Magic he'd disabled and had sitting in a chair on the stage, looking blank, knowing once he was out from under the Imperius curse he would understand the actions. He ran a hand over his head, knowing this sword was double edged, by calling for help he would also be informing He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's followers, supporters and sympathizers if they hadn't been already alerted by their own side. "Are you ready, Lee?"

Lee gave him a thumbs up from the broadcasting station that would pose as the relay to the wireless and to his own listening base. "Alright listeners, this is River and we've got some serious news. I'll hand it over to Royal."

"This is Head Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt and I have declared a state of emergency for the wizarding world of the United Kingdom and am invoking the allied treaty of 1817. Lord Voldemort is gathering an army to attack Hogwarts."

There were outcries, someone near him yelling. 'That's the staff's problem."

"The castle is full of many of your children." He let a pause happen, let that fact sink in for both parents and non-parents alike. "They will be evacuated via our floo network and coordinated is needed to get them to their families or to hiding with allies with the Order of the Phoenix."

"What do you know about that?" Dolores Umbridge asked with a very unhappy noise.

"I run it. Elphias Doge will be in charge the out of country evacuations with cooperation from the portkey department. Aurors with me as well as anyone who would prefer to be on site. We'll need guards getting the children to the evacuation point at Hogsmeade station."

Warlock Perkins stood up and nodded, a dueling champion in his youth and lover of muggles, his response was favorable, "I'll head there now, keep the floo team here, if it's anything like what happened when Brazil fell they'll blow the floo network to trap everyone."

Kingsley nodded his thanks at the advice and saw the floo night shift lead nod as well, also rising to return to his post. He looked at his audience, at the confusion and fear, the fidgeting and whispering. "This is not muggleborn vs. pureblood, this is the destruction of our world as we know it. Do not be fooled by the promises and platitudes of this regime, remember that every one of you knows someone who has been murdered in this war. Be it a coworker like Arthur Weasley who had a kind word and open door or Amelia Bones whose intelligence was cut brutally short. This is not the time to waver, to forget what made you believe in this Ministry and want to work here, to forget your years at Hogwarts. This is when we stand together and protect our most vulnerable, because inaction in these crucial hours is just as good as shooting the Unforgivables yourself." He glanced at the clock, time was short to rabble rally rouse, "Incoming fighters are suggested to wear your WWW shielding products and are directed to the Hogs Head pub as an entry point. Good Luck and God Bless."

He left, issuing curt instructions to the other Department Heads following. "Aspen wands in each group sent, portkey to our allied countries and invoke the treaties and other wizarding schools, Dumbledore laid a hell of a lot of groundwork. Ensure containment is available, many are Imperiused and intelligence says they will actively try to take more. Launch the Ministry protections in case we become a secondary siege location."

"Shacklebolt, you don't get to-"

"According to the Ministry charter he does, fall in line or fall out." It was cut in by the head of Sanitation and Kingsley slapped him on the back, making the much smaller man stumble slightly.

When he finally twisted himself into the muggle Prime Minister's living room he got a a resigned, "Bloody hell. What is it now? Do I just call it a weather disturbance? Where's my usual liaison?" At the gravity of his face or tenseness of his posture the Prime Minister shut up.

"Tonight the wizarding world goes to battle."

The charismatic Prime Minister paled and went and pulled a large emergency binder, glancing at it. "My poll numbers will dive if I have to be the first Prime Minister to have to sound the bomb sirens in London since-"

"Stop politicking and do your duty to your people. If we lose your world falls with us." Kingsley told him, not unkindly, he had worked for him, found him slightly inept, but not a bad man, merely a politician.

"Where's my wizard? I can't do the magic things to talk to you people."

"I'll have another liaison over shortly." He got a nod in response and Kingsley left, deciding Arabella Figg, who Dumbledore had entrusted to watch the most famous baby in wizarding history for seventeen years, and was able to magically communicate via her galleon and familiar was the lady for the job. He would not be disappointed. When he got back to Hogwarts it was to a disembodied voice demanding the immediate delivery of Ginny Weasley with promises for the family's protection and he was glad to see McGonagall had a lid on things as he made it to the Great Hall.

She nodded at him, looking white lipped and rather furious. "They want darkness at Hogwarts? They'll get it. Madame Pince, stop helping Sinistra with the telescopes. I believe you know which of the books will take orders. Unleash the Restricted Section at your pleasure. "

"Quidditch players?" Madame Hooch called bent over sets of quidditch balls she was charming next to Oliver Wood, waving brooms at potential volunteers. "Over here if you're willing to fight on broomstick. We'll be low bearing aerial coverage and mainly covering defensive for ground troops."

Kingsley was one of the few to witness a burying of a hatchet, One of the Weasley twins tapping Argus Filch on the shoulder. "Mr. Filch? Almost all of the younger ones are gone, would you like the last group to take Mrs. Norris to safety?"

Mrs. Norris hissed at Fred in response, but Argus Filch looked surprisingly moved as he looked at Fred. "Get the other one and come with me."

Fred let out a strange whistle and George appeared at his side almost instantly, "What's up? Detention already?"

"I have two rooms of contraband either confiscated from you or created by you. I would like help weaponizing it." It was stiffly said.

The twins lit up, "Excellent. We'll need-"

"-Assistants, yes, yes. I agree. Oi, Peeves! Get over here." They left as fast as Filch could walk. Fred grabbing one of their best customers by the arm and dragging him along as well, telling Argus they were naming their pet line after his cat.

He made his way over to McGonagall who had glanced at the sight, "Never thought I'd see the day. The paintings are aware they aren't to let anyone but our side or individuals requesting sanctuary through and are to assist the ghosts in notifying us of injuries or groups in need of backup. Slughorn, don't make that face, he may be insufferable at times, but he didn't make Head of Slytherin for nothing. He's taking the protection of the entire dungeons, we need to redirect the forces."

"That isn't possible. Too large-" Kingsley told her.

"-He's using Pomona's perforated watering hoses to spray confounding and sleepiness potions, so I'd avoid going down there." She said it archly.

"Well, I'll be damned. Who set the outer castle wards? I thought -"

She nodded tightly, "Severus did not shirk his duties as Headmaster, nor will they fall, he left a signet sealed letter of resignation. They can't be taken down until the Board appoints a new Headmaster."

Remus joined their conversation looking hassled, "I do hope your thoughts on him are right, Minerva. We'll have to see where he puts his wand in battle."

"I don't see Nymphadora, were you successful in your persuasion?" Minerva asked.

He shook his head and gave an apologetic grimace, "No. I've asked her to guard the Hospital Wing to keep her out of it. She understands I can't properly duel if she's in danger and if it comes to it I'd prefer our child have a mother."

Minerva placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a tight squeeze, before tightening her lips again. "Yes, Sybil?"

There was no affected ethereal tone now, "Where would you like me to put them?"

"Put what, Sybil?"

"I've charmed many of the crystal balls to project the grim and other known death omens." She looked very tentative, "I thought it might scare them from going down some of the halls."

"Very well, leading to the dormitories if you please. Do make an announcement to our side as well, letting them know what you've done." She left and Minerva shook her head, but said nothing about Hogwarts not being a haunted house.

"Where is Potter?" Kingsley asked.

She indicated she didn't know, "Running around trying to find something with Ron and Hermione. Chang said she thinks it's Ravenclaw's diadem."

* * *

"Sorry about that." Ginny said casually, coming in through the regular door over large excited roaring. "Just my dragon."

"How'd you get in? The castle's covered in wards and -"

"I've got a dragon, Neville." Ginny said as if this was the most obvious thing in the world as she hugged him and pecked his cheek, dismayed at the damage. "You look dreadful."

"Hogsmeade is now missing three Death Eaters and four dementors." Ralph said appearing as well, watching her hug all of her friends.

"You fighting on dragon back?" Fred asked her as everyone stared.

"No, you've got my wands on the ground. I'll only fly if they're short, but I'm your ground relay person to aerial." She tucked her goggles into her flying jacket.

"How?" Ron asked confusedly.

"I'll hook all incoming dragons into my brain to try and coordinate coverage where it's needed from up high. Gin and I are enough in sync she'll tuck in and let me know what's needed. We'll try and focus on the giants." Ralph said, slipping an arm around her waist as she came back over to him. "Angus and I will perch on the North Tower."

"Dangerous that is." Hagrid shook his head. "Come 'elp me with Fluffy?"

"Someone's got to do it. How big did he get?" Ralph acknowledged, before turning to Ginny. "Be safe, sweetheart."

"Don't worry about me, Rob, keep your wand at the level of your eyes, Tom will kill you as soon as he sees you." She shooed at him, before pausing to holler, "Don't get eaten by the three headed dog either." Before turning back to everyone over Hagrid's protests that his pet was sweet, "Where do you need help?"

"Ginny, can you get into the Chamber of Secrets?" Ron asked suddenly, just grabbing her arm. "We need a basilisk fang."

"No problem, Saoirse's still got a few." Ginny answered easily. "Let's roll."

"That thing had a name?" Ron asked in horror and Ginny shrugged, looping her arm through Hermione's.

"Don't say it like that, it was polite. Tom hadn't bothered because he hated his, but since he and I had names she very badly wanted one. She helped pick!" Ginny, it appeared was not at all phased by the fact she had named a giant monster who was supposed to kill other children. She turned to Hermione, "Pass out all of your extra clothes?"

"Yes." Hermione was still slightly awed by just how much Bill and the twins had done to her entire wardrobe, how many hours it must have taken Bill to charm and rune everything she had. The twins were creatively brilliant and Bill had achieved a complexity of magic she wasn't at yet, his usage of other creatures magical skills something she simply hadn't experienced.

"You're mental, Ginny." Ron shook his head at her, not caring a whit about protective clothing. "Mental."

"Stuff it, Ron." Ginny said and Hermione wanted to roll her eyes at the two, "Want to see my ring, Hermione? He proposed!"

Whether Hermione wanted to see it or not, Ginny was excitedly shoving it in her face as they walked. "You little sneak, not telling me he took you, Mum, Muriel and his Mum ring and courtship gift shopping."

"It's very pretty, Ginny. Congratulations!" Hermione told her honestly, giving her a hug as they rushed. It had been horrendous and about five minutes in Hermione had wanted to leave and seen a panicked look on his face indicating he'd only just realized the mayhem he'd inflicted on himself, causing her to feel bad enough to stay. A glance at Ron just showed him completely stunned and she grabbed him to keep him moving. "Does He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named know you're engaged?"

"No idea if Tom felt it when we blew our brains up with bonding magic, he's had a busy day. You'll be my Maid of Honor, right?" She stopped talking and looked at the sink, a strange hissing coming out of her mouth and it fell away.

It was completely the wrong time to be talking about any of it, but Hermione felt extremely moved and hugged her from behind. She had no idea if they'd make it through this night and these friends she'd made in the magical world were why she was fighting, why she had wanted to. She corrected herself, this family she'd been gifted with, Bill, Harry, Ron, Ginny and all the rest of the Weasleys. Ron muttered something about not wanting to go back down there, but went first anyway, wand drawn and motioning for them to stay behind him. Hermione looked curiously around as Ginny ran off to check something and cringed slightly as she had to help stabilize the jaw bones so Ron could extract the fang. When he handed it to her, he rubbed the back of his head and she could tell he had more reasons, but wasn't quite able to vocalize them. "You should do it, Hermione."

Her hands shook slightly as he held the cup, which seemed to be squirming slightly, she had a brief guilty thought. She was killing something, even if it was completely evil, she was still killing it. Still, she raised and stabbed downward, dropping the fang once the cup started shrieking madly. It was anticlimactic in a way, this wasn't over and now the cup merely looked burnt, still she blinked and looked at Ron, a sense of accomplishment boiling up in her that was mirrored on Ron's face. "Another one bites the dust."

She smiled and helped him to his feet. "Hopefully Harry's found Ravenclaw's diadem! Just that and the snake."

Ron's voice was quiet as he glanced around, "And Ginny, unless Ralph ripped the horcrux out already."

She swallowed and paled, what did they tell her? What could they tell her that had any hope? "They did some bonding magic, but I don't know if that shifted anything, think it was just to make the connection controllable on her side."

"Bloody hope so, she's annoying, but it's not like I want to see her burnt on a stake just so we-" Ron went completely white and Hermione turned to see what he was looking at. It was Ginny.

"Ginny-" Hermione started, unsure what to say.

"Don't. Tom told me about magic like that." She turned away and started for the exit, her gait brisk even as she looked and looked at the ring on her finger. "Just make it quick."

"Ginny, we're not going to do anything to you!" Hermione rushed after her, insides twisting, Ron racing right beside her.

Ginny paused and glanced back, looking glacial, no jokes. "Frankly, you should. Sooner rather than later, if that prophecy Tom's obsessed with is right I'm the last body to hit the ground for our side. That can only mean two things. We've won or he's kept me as his trophy wife. I'd prefer the first."

Before either of them could make a response she was shooting herself out of the Chamber and Hermione wanted to throw up, glad when Ron tentatively wrapped his arms around her. She hugged him back, Ron might complain about all of his siblings the way he'd bemoaned Scabbers, but it meant he loved them, that they were on his mind. She wasn't quite sure how many years it had taken her to see that, to completely grasp while Ron was going to whine about whatever the perky twins were on about at breakfast, there was a reason they sat with them constantly and it wasn't 'Mum said so' like he pretended as he saved seats.

They left, Ron pausing in the hallway, giving her a sheerly concerned look. "Hermione, what about the House Elves? We've got to evacuate them!"

"You're brilliant, Ron." She paled, then flung herself at him in a huge hug and they took off for the kitchens. He got it, he finally got it. Ron Weasley, hater of S.P.E.W. got it, emotional range of a teaspoon and he'd finally grown up enough to see it. Ron who had spent years being jealous, feeling insecure had showed his true colors in danger, highlighted the kindness of his heart.

* * *

Bill Weasley knew he made quite the sight marching into Hogwarts with a battle legion of goblins, wearing a goblin made helmet and carrying an axe. McGonagall pausing in her spelling to spare him a smile, her tight voice full of the so rarely earned pride and quite a bit of relief. "Welcome, keepers of treasure, coordination is occurring in the Great Hall."

He wife was standing with a horde of house elves around her near the Great Hall. "I'm scareds, but I wants to help." Her ears shook in fear, "I don't know how to fights."

"Winky, you can go to my house or stay and help in the kitchens or the Hospital Wing. We'll protect you." Hermione told her gently and pulled off her sweater, "Here, put this on. It's got shield charms and protective runes all over it."

She let it be tucked over her little shaking form and hugged Hermione's legs before Hermione noticed Bill and looking completely flabbergasted at his attire, eyes lingering on the axe. He winked at her, spinning it for good measure and knew that she instantly understood this was where he had been all of those missing nights, perhaps not the details, not knowing he'd been going to secret underground goblin meetings at all of Gringotts various locations and pleading the cause, rallying them at everything from partnership forums to gambling nights. He hoped he'd have time to tell it later, explain how he'd talked and talked to the goblins, telling how she had been tortured and branded, mocked for her belief in equal rights, explain the goblins had such a disparity between males and females that wives were treasured beyond measure. The belief that not all wizards hated goblins or partial goblins, had dragged Filius along with him, praising how hard it was to get a teaching position at Hogwarts and how respected he was in the community, explaining that Dumbledore and Gringotts wizards were not singularities.

Bill turned to the head goblin next to him, but found another one stepping out. Therook, his friend from Gringotts breaking rank. "Permission to protect our cousins?"

It was granted and he went over with his own small force and Bill followed, peeling off the goblin made mail he was wearing. "You wear this, love."

The goblin leader followed Bill and was curt. "Your wife?" Bill nodded at him and he peeled off his own mail, "Yours is too large. Mine is not." He paused, "May I see it?"

Damn things still only partially trusted him, Hermione looked startled and confused so Bill reached over and turned her arm, showing the derogatory emblazonment that still was the hot red of a scar that hadn't had time to fade. He looked at it thoughtfully, glancing over to where a partially exposed fore arm on one of Hermione's classmates showed a similar scrawl of ink.

Hermione looked very startled, arms still clinging around Bill's waist in her joy of seeing him safe. "That's too generous."

"You believe in our wand rights, you care for our cousins who care for others. You are delicate, I am not." He refused to take it back and Bill started to just tuck it over her like she was a child until she did it herself. He gave her a kiss at the end, his helmet banging into her face and didn't let go as he turned her back to the goblin.

"Thank you." She sounded very moved and he could feel how truly touched she was down the bond between them.

Bill thanked him profusely in gobbledygook before turning to the crowd of witches and wizards that were staring at them. "Flitwick will be with us, but we'd like a few more wands in our regiments."

Dean grabbed Seamus and came over, "I'll fight, was on the run with goblins for awhile." He turned to the leader and introduced the two of them in gobbledygook as Hannah Abbott followed them shyly.

Her gobbledegook was halting, "My mother works at Gringotts. I used to want to be a goblin when I grew up."

Bill glanced at everyone else, four would be enough until the wizards coming from Gringotts got here. Goblins fighting style worked best in close quarters. "We'll cover the west hallways and the entrance to the dungeons."

It would be close to twenty minutes after midnight when their force went to war. For the first time, wizards and witches were under war command of goblins, were fighting side by side with them as equals, Kreacher and his brave house elves right in the thick of things, his battle cries of "For Master Harry", "For Master Regulus", "For my Mistress" and even once "For Master Sirius" would shortly shrilly pierce the night as he ran around stabbing people in the toes and attacking wildly with his meat cleaver.

* * *

A/N: Would love to hear your thoughts! Next we battle.


	30. Battle

A/N: We battle, we tear up as we write, we tear up as we read reviews (so you keep going guest). This is not pretty, it for the most parts avoids things the true author wrote, so unless directly contradicted assume that happened. She wrote that beautifully and I can in no way emulate it, but I can try and tell the story from a different perspective.

* * *

Battle

It was in battle you learned the mettle of a man, the truth of what laid under nice words and self assumptions, it was in those bloody, chaotic moments that were neither glorious nor noble. It was using your axe to block, not strike, in screaming, "Hannah, incoming."

For even in this ugly smash of dueling, Bill still couldn't bring himself to hex a woman and was relieved when she went for her own gender. It was completely stupid, he knew that, but it had been drilled into him so much growing up that girls needed to be protected that even now, even in the midst of this mayhem he couldn't. He reached down, grabbing the wand of his downed opponent and kept moving. Keep moving, that was key, harder to hit, harder to engage, scan to figure out why all of the goblins were shrieking in rage or fear. Adrenaline was rushing through his veins as he started shooting spells, seeing them rebound shoving Dean aside who had gone completely frozen at the sight of a giant spider trying to get through the passageway to the hallway they were fighting in.

Bill was really glad they'd given him an axe right then.

He threw the thing directly at the head, catching it between the many eyes and watched it smash immediately to the floor, still blocking the route and took a moment to breathe a few breaths before manning up and going to go fetch it out of the humungous spider's face while the battle goblins cheered and screamed war cries at him. He managed not to vomit at the gush and grabbed Dean forcibly by the arm dragging him into a trot, the goblin's manic cheering of 'Spider killer! Spider killer!" falling in beside them. "Let's find another way out, there's probably more coming if what Ron said about them is true."

They flung around another corner. Oh bloody hell, there was more of them. Bill lifted his axe again and things very shortly got extremely ugly. It turned into a rabid daze of hacking and throwing both weapons and armed goblins, of Peeves' determined insanity as he came to their rescue with buckets full of knives and WWW fireworks to be thrown in their eyes, scaring them to flee out of windows to be some other poor group's problem.

He staggered into a wall in sudden pain that was not his, but was what he carried in his vows. Sliding down it, his sweat slick as it left a trail on the wall. No, no, no, Hermione.

* * *

Hermione was crouched behind Harry, holding him up in a tunnel, heart shaking in fear, racing in the adrenaline it had taken them to get through the battle and down the passageway of the Whomping Willow. Ron's still panting breaths hot in her hair, she didn't know what was going on, couldn't hear and Harry seemed to be having another fit. They also couldn't go, not with Harry like this.

"I regret it." Lord Voldemort was sweeping from the room, pausing at the snake's hissing, "Very well, Nagini. You may stay and watch."

"No Harry!" Hermione whispered behind him as Harry started and immediately started trying to move the crate, willing him to stop, this was far too close of a call, but the Dark Lord was sweeping away, without even a glance around and Harry was already creeping ahead of her into the room, moving towards Snape's prone form. She hissed it again, "No Harry, the snake!"

Harry wasn't listening, oh why was he so stubborn? He was out from under the cloak and she did the only thing she could as the snake saw him and lunged, bodily blocked Harry and felt the fangs sink into her just as she'd stabbed the basilisk fang down into the cup what seemed like a different lifetime. It slithered away dodging Ron's curses and she couldn't even make a strangled noise over the pain as she dropped to the ground, smashing what she carried in her pocket, watching mist pour from Snape that Harry was trying to collect in a vial in a strange haze. Everything felt suddenly too harsh with abrupt pain spreading like fire through her veins, but the pain was pouring down the bond and she could speak again, she was urgent, "My pocket, Ron."

Things were getting very thick around her, darker, but the knowledge that had so sustained her and saved her time and time again had yet to fade and in her too harsh, yet wavering state she fell into it and went didactic. Reciting the words she'd seen on the page as she'd studied as they floated and floated in her brain. "Unicorn horn, properties similar to the bezoar stone and phoenix tears. Used to counteract-"

Ron shoved a piece in her mouth, his voice urgent, "Harry! Harry take some of it. Give it to him."

"Look at me." Harry was looking and shoving some of the horn into his mouth and she felt Ron trying to rub some on her wounds. Everything went black and then very slowly Ron's face came back into focus as he screamed her name again and again.

She spoke around the horn, not sure how much sense she made. "Harry get out! The snake. He'll know."

"Go, go!" Ron screamed it at him, "I'll handle getting her out."

Harry's voice sounded disembodied to her very foggy mind. "Take him too, he's not dead."

"Go, Harry!" She spit out the horn to try and scream it at him, now was not the time for his noble streak to kick in and blacked out again. It was almost choking her when her vision cleared the second time to find Ron shaking her, this time not in anger, but in fear.

"Swallow it, 'Mione." She did as she was told, Ron helping her sit up, "You alright?"

"Think so. My leg though…oh, oh, we need to get away from here." She felt terror flood in as he picked her up and set to levitating Snape who while not dead, did not seem as recovered as she was.

She looked at the floating professor that had been a belittling enemy, a supposed ally and all around traitor. Had made all of their potions lessons, a subject she thought she could have enjoyed all along, dreadful as he attempted to reduce various members of Gryffindor house into panic or tears to where Neville shook before, during and after class. Seeing her glance Ron squeezed her, not quite grasping her disjointed thoughts, his own focused on concern. "Think we got it to him in time. Greasy traitor better not die on us now."

"Is that your idea of encouragement, Mr. Weasley?" It was very weakly snarked as the three of them once again left the Shrieking Shack together and Hermione suddenly went back to that night, wondering just how it all would have been different if Peter Pettigrew had not gotten away, if Remus had not forgotten his potion. If Pettigrew hadn't been there, would Lord Voldemort have been able to come back? He'd have found a way, she was sure of that. Neville and Seamus both chalk white as they waited for class to start. If Pettigrew hadn't been there would Harry and Ron been able to escape the dungeons to save her at Malfoy Manor, saved by his hesitation at James' child? She had no idea. Tears on Lavender's face after a seriously awful lesson. Confused, she curled into Bill's shoulder, it felt wrong though, she thought she was going to throw up, she seemed to be hot and cold at once as it burned out of her.

Ron's voice was a mutter right by her ear, "You think he'd thank us for saving his life."

Someone else was running at them and she felt herself abruptly ripped into very familiar arms, the correct arms this time. Bill pulling into his own grip, helmet bashing into her head again as he pressed his face into her hair, "I thought…I thought….you were starting to-"

"Bill, Bill, I'm alright." She wrapped an arm around his neck, hand tangling in his hair and squeezing his shaking shoulders and motioning for Ron to keep going with Professor Snape. Foggy as she was, this she could handle. She too felt weak with relief as she pushed the helmet off to kiss him, shooting down just how fine she was down the bond. Her voice shaky as she pulled away, things becoming slightly more clear. "Remind me to thank Hagrid for that unicorn horn."

"Best wedding present by far." He gave a watery laugh, the sheen of tears in his eyes slowly receding as he started walking again. "Let's get farther away from the forest and I'll bind your leg up, love. Would have been her sooner, but that hurt like hell."

She curled closer, wishing there wasn't massive amounts of mail between them, holding her wand at the ready, seeing the somberness on his face as she felt steadier and steadier. "How's it look?"

"You didn't hear the one hour stand off demanding Harry stop letting his friends die for him and go to the Forbidden Forest?" He asked in confusion and she almost asked him to loosen his grip, to change his hold. Bill had carried her constantly as she healed, but never this clutching, encasing grip with a very bloody axe blocking most of her, his grip trying to tuck her into the smallest target possible. One look at his face told her this was non-negotiable. Her beloved husband who had not wanted her a stones throw away from his protection, but understood she must go with the others, no matter how painful of a realization it was as they'd stolen those last few relieved, frantic kisses at seeing each other whole.

"Blacked out there for awhile." She told him apologetically still foggy, before her heart clenched, "No! We need to get to Harry or he'll go and and-"

"Hush, love. We're going." He told her and paused as they entered the castle, following the throng that all seemed to be heading for the same place, the Great Hall. There were no house tables anymore, just an awful silence and Bill moved them through the mourning crowd, searching for anyone they knew, for the knot of red that meant their family. He froze, stiffening and almost dropping her at the sight that met them, at his mother futilely trying to wipe dirt from Percy's dead face and she realized Bill hadn't known. It had only been her, Ron and Harry that had been blown backwards as the wall crashed down on Percy and Oliver Wood. Only them safely tucking away the bodies as Ron's world stopped turning and her controlling Ron's resulting overwhelming rage as it sunk in and he tried to comprehend as he closed his brother's eyes. While scared and feeling those flashes of fear at him from the torture, she had breathed once in emotion and the next in adrenaline and blocked him, had smashed his face into her shoulder and restrained him behind a tapestry, scolding him harshly into helping him handle it as he took three gasping, broken sobs. To understand that it was done and they needed to keep fighting, they were going to have to fight to get to the snake. Trying to channel his anger and Harry's stunned countenance back into the mission at hand while feeling the forced distance she fell into during crisis, turning off her emotions and turning on her survival instinct. She had dragged them both, her turn to carry all three, to be the voice of reason, the anchoring weight for her boys until they could find their own compass again. They had carried her next, both stronger duelists, both yanking her out of the way of killing curses she was the main target of because of her mudblood status. Ron the one dragging her away as she let out a strangled cry that a curse meant for her had smashed into one of her roommates instead.

Her voice was quiet as she explained for Bill, "A dead giant smashed in the wall as he was dueling Rookwood. We saw, he was…he was joking with Oliver as it happened."

Bill's voice was incredibly tight as he whispered, "They were close mates, Perce usually went to his place for a bit over summers. Wood alright?" A glance of his eyes showed the woman who had only been Mrs. Oliver Wood for mere hours sitting there in a stupor holding his hand, still in her wedding dress, for they had come as soon as called. "Never mind."

Hermione couldn't look at her, couldn't imagine what she would be like if it was Bill on that floor. Couldn't imagine what it would have been like if it had been her wedding crashed with dark news and a call to arms. They hadn't been obvious when they started dating near the end of his seventh year, not that she'd paid a giant amount of attention to the older years, but she and Ginny had both had little crushes on Oliver and had seen them constantly together. She had always assumed they were close friends as most of the quidditch team was, but there was a harsh, unescapable grief writing lines on Alicia's face as Angelina dropped down next to her, pulling her into an embrace. Hermione's insides were even more destroyed as they got to Mrs. Weasley and Percy, wondering where everyone else was. Probably at the Hospital Wing, she decided, Fred and George would have been called in for back up healers.

Bill set her down and rolled up her bloody pant leg, only to be shoved away by Charlie. "Go to Mum."

"Charlie-"

"Bill, you're pot at healing. Can't even fix a broken ankle without a potion." Bill was bodily shoved towards his mother and Percy's prone form, also still in dress robes from the wedding. She watched him in a daze pull his mother into his arms in grief, grabbing the rag from her. She knew that for most of Bill's childhood he had shared a room with Charlie and Percy, who preferred them over the twins. Had seen him go nuts when Percy's patronus saying he wanted to come back had popped up, just grabbing Ron like a crazy person and hugging everyone. She wasn't sure how long she sat there with Charlie messing with her leg and dazedly started to take the potion he handed her before he ripped it back. "No, no. Sorry, H, no potion for you. Not in your condition."

"What? The unicorn horn didn't do the trick?" It was startled and she focused back in off of worrying about Harry.

"Your happy condition," Charlie pecked her cheek, giving her the first true smile she'd seen for hours. "Sorry Mum-to-be, can't really tell you more than that."

"Mum-to-be? Mum-to-be?" She felt like a parrot as she echoed it at him, as she kept saying it as Bill practically assaulted him to get him out of the way to smother her face in kisses as she changed her parrot skills and just started saying 'baby?' in question on repeat instead with Bill enthusiastically repeating the word back at her as he kissed her after each time. She was in utter shock. This was no time for babies, they were in the middle of battle surrounded by bodies, babies were for people in their thirties, not for eighteen year olds who didn't know if they would live three more hours. She'd have no idea the scene Bill made in interrupting the echoing mourning of the Great Hall would offer light when things seemed so dark, no clue that her tenderly touching her stomach in excited confusion, murmuring a potential new name and telling her little newly found charge that she would protect them would bring a different sort of tears for watchers. She still felt very overwhelmed and childishly confused from her near death, "My Mum was already going to kill me for being a school dropout, and now?"

Mrs. Weasley looked up from her task then, "She will be proud of you and when we win, you're going back to school to finish up, Hermione Weasley. I'll watch the little treasure or William is perfectly capable of caring for a baby."

"Half raised six siblings, love. They turned out great." He was still kissing at her face, completely making a scene with his startled affection in the mourning hall.

Ron and Charlie exchanged rather skeptical glances at that, but said nothing. Hermione didn't notice, was still looking down at where Bill's hand rested on the next little generation, at where his hands would likely be for the next several months. Bill's words urgent as he glanced at his watch, "I need to get you evacuated. Charlie-"

"No." Hermione told him, hand twining with his and squeezing, reminding him of the truth, every route to Hogsmeade had been blocked, even the Room of Requirement couldn't withstand the fiendfyre that had destroyed it. There was no apparition or portkeys and baby or not, there was no safety in going on foot. She told him the bitter reality that stole away all joy at their news. "There's no out at this point, Bill."

Neville came, white as a sheet, carrying yet more proof the world had stopped turning. Had in fact been completely destroyed in the short time she, Harry and Ron had been trying to end this. There was a flood of guilt, that if she had been smarter, cleverer they would have been able to find all of the horcruxes. Then a rush of fear and smash of grief at seeing Remus, yet as Bill shoved his mail over her there was one thing that refused to go away. It was a tiny thing, a little flicker of fire, but it was there, it was lighting in everyone that saw her and Bill.

Hope.

* * *

Luna went running towards the lake, smashing hexes at Runcorn as she went. She needed water and to get what she thought might be fire off her back in the spot she just couldn't reach. They both paused seeing a disturbance, a ship mast emerging, having seen it before she turned and hit the staring Imperiused Runcorn with a stunner, then another to make sure he stayed down, bending over and snatching his wand and shoving it with the others in her pocket. She flung herself into the water and out again, feeling the burning change to aching. She checked her surroundings and took a moment to pant as the Durmstrang ship emerged, lights within it indicating there was passengers from both sides of the war, but she could hear Viktor's distinctive voice issuing commands and people diving out to come join the fight for their side. If it was a time to smile, she would, but it was not and she turned around and went back to find her next opponent, not seeing the giant squid was doing his part by trying to drown unfriendly swimmers or merely just finding himself some new toys to play with when nobody was going to tell him to put them down.

There a flash of red, and a hollered spell and she spun to see Ginny's wild mane as a body hit the ground near her. She seemed to be everywhere once she'd realized the other side was avoiding dueling her, running around throwing protection charms for other duelists and just stunning as many Imperiused as she could. Luna managed a weak, "Thank you."

"Grab his wand." Ginny gave her a squeeze and was sprinting off again, screaming a shield charm at Creevey's back. She staggered and started to wilt, something attempting to come out of her wand as a pack dementors came for her. Luna rushed over to her, starting to throw a patronus when she was smashed face first into the ground by a charm, managing to just roll enough to see dragon fire exterminating dementors that had been coming for them. Cormac McLaggen's voice apologetic as he landed the huge beast near them, "Sorry! Didn't want my baby to flame you. She's a little excited."

"Why are you landing?" She asked as she pulled herself up, Ginny still looking shaky from the dementors and making no effort to leave the ground.

She got a feral grin and a point upwards where she saw no more masked riders on broomstick. "Because we've taken the skies. He's grounding most of us to put our wands in foot battle. Dragon king will hold them and do a recall if needed." He slid down the dragon and started to check his charge for injuries.

Luna helped Ginny sit up and despite all of the noise around them, the dragon, the wild cries of battle she found herself in a brief respite as they caught their breaths again saw the horror unfolding before them. It felt like she was in a void, sitting here muddy with her longest friend seeing a boy she'd sat in class with turn at the smack of the Imperius curse and horribly hex down Padma Patil who he'd been fighting beside moments before. This thought wasn't a drift, nor was it dreamy, a bit dreadful, perhaps, but it was the truth. "Ginny, I'll go with you if you go." She talked to let Ginny think, to come to the understanding that was crystal clear to Luna, "Would have been nice if we'd had time to gather our things."

Ginny reached out and grabbed her hand, holding it the same way she had when they'd been young and innocent, bouncing after her brothers if she'd gone across the hill for a visit or going shopping with their Mums. "Thank you, Luna, but I'd rather go alone. He's about to come for me anyway. It's time, isn't it?"

Luna looked at the destruction around her and helped her to her feet. "Do you think it will change anything?"

Ginny gave her a glance that was helpless and determined. "We can hope, can't we?" She slipped the ring off of her finger and gave it to Luna, "Tell Ralph, tell him.." She faltered, too overcome to process more. "Well tell him something."

Luna slipped the ring onto her own hand for safe keeping, giving her a sad, thoughtful smile, "I think I'll tell him that you love him. You should tell Lord Voldemort that too, you know. Perhaps stop calling him a delusional bastard, it's not very nice." Another bit of advice, "There's so much power in the first love."

"He wasn't-" Ginny started in confusion.

"But I think we can assume from how he's acting you are his." Luna explained softly, perhaps she could have told her the first love wrote the initial song your heart would never forget, the minor fall and major lift that would rise in you from time to time, sticking in your head. Or quoted the chapter detailing how powerful it was in binding magic, how for so long a witch's duty as a mother was trying to find appropriate matches while her children were young. Luna's own mother had been eccentric, but had still taken her to playdate after playdate as a child to see if her magic matched any of them to avoid situations like Tom Riddle's parents. Where that first love was the only love. Where it was everything, every atom turned so deeply into it and was too much to bear, so that when it was gone there wasn't enough love left to even give to a baby.

Her voice was weakly resistant, "He can't do that. Love, I mean."

Luna shook her head, "Ginny, just because he can't or won't put a name on what he's feeling it doesn't mean it's not love. We all misnomer or deny our feelings for the longest time, a waste really."

Ginny nodded, hugged her tightly and went walking off to wherever, her face going to that slightly blank look that meant she was talking to him in her head. Luna turned away and got smacked into the ground again by an explosion and laid there, looking up at the floating colors in a dazed way until she found herself being pulled up easily by a soot faced young man, "Sorry, sorry, used a few too many exploding snails on that one."

He was steadying her and she blinked, she'd been writing an article for the quibbler on those. "South African or Costa Rican?"

"Mix, I was breeding them, I'm a pot duelist so I'm just throwing them at people. Rolf, by the way." He did seem to have a rather large bags of them crossed around himself.

"Luna. Snails?" Perhaps exploding snails in the middle of a battlefield causing her to see fireworks was a strange beginning to a crush, but all the same, that was the result. Leaning against his warm chest with arms firmly supporting her as she used the sounds of his heartbeat to feel less dizzy. She pulled slightly away, feeling strangely exposed. It was the worst time and exactly the right time to notice how soot made his cornflower blue eyes the only thing she wanted to look at. At this rate when else would she have the chance anyway?

"Magizoologist and snails travel well." He smoothed her hair back unnecessarily, tucking a wispy wave behind her ear and she realized he must have cast a drying charm at her while she'd been in swoon listening to the steady thumps of his heart.

It also didn't go unnoticed, Cormac McLaggen yelling at him as he went by at a jog, dragon tending done. "Really really not the time for wooing, Scamander."

She looked up, got given a sheepish smile and realized she perhaps was not alone in her new little attraction and gave a shy one in return. She pulled away and threw turgies over his shoulder at the stirring Runcorn, "Stay by me and I'll do the dueling."

He did and they found a rhythm, her offensive, him defensive and snail tossing. He would de wand and she would guard. As they ran to the side to avoid the Veelas throwing fireballs at a giant that huge disembodied voice came again, calling for a one hour cease fire and they began trying to help get their own to safety. He lifted Padma Patil into his arms, for while wizards could use a levitation charm, they carried their dead out of respect. Just as their magic was gone no magic would be used in the aftermath of a loss of life, no easing or dwindling of what had happened. He waved off her assistance, but she still placed a tentative hand on the one wrapped around Padma, resting her fingers there and found her other arm going around his waist for a moment in some sort of ugly attempt at comfort. She pulled away and went to see if Colin was dead.

* * *

Fred had an awful feeling as he and George led the stretchers they had with them towards the Hospital Wing at a trot, no healers had come when the cease fire had been called. He paused, the doors were blown open and the floor bloody. One look at Tonks sprawled face down, spread eagle, told him she was gone, the body of Rudolphus Lestrange near her. George was panicking, "Muriel?! Muriel?!"

"Here." She sounded so weak and they dropped down by her, forgetting their stretchers, she was bleeding, but reached for their hands. "The Lestranges."

They each took one and squeezed, her breathing labored and it was obvious nothing could be done. She managed a smile over Fred's wail of, "No, Muriel."

"Now kiss your aunt on the cheek and wish her a good-" She squeezed their hands and she was gone. They both did as they were told in very choked voices as they broke down. The world could not still be turning without Muriel there to run it, to make sure you knew when you were acting like a blithering idiot or run interference against Mum with a wink. It didn't matter that Muriel was incredibly old, or that sometimes she accused them of stealing things, or swatted their hands as children, she had been theirs. She still was, except now the current situation had changed. She had been reduced to a was. No more moments or adventures with her, no more of both dreading and being excited at visiting her for the cake and seeing Mum get bossed around. That had been ripped from them and that was completely unacceptable, Muriel should have gotten to die a nice old lady death with her family around her, tucked in at home, not this awful bloody, painful one on the floor.

George pulled it together first, slowly closing her eyes and standing up, still crying. "C'mon Fred, Muriel would want us to heal not grieve. See if anyone else is alive and I'll start with the stretchers."

Fred would sob for a moment more and get up to start moving around the massacre, incredibly relieved when Poppy Pomfrey popped through the floo in her office and shrieked. "What happened? I was just gone for a few minutes to take a patient to trauma."

"Bellatrix fucking Lestrange. They're all dead, even the house elves." Fred's voice was hot and angry as he fetched his own stretcher and started working on the girl, who didn't seem to care that he was crying all over her as she too was crying.

"Oh my." Poppy said, swallowed it, ran back into her office and shoved her head in the floo, screaming for backups, before calmly waving new hospital beds into place, shifting the others to the back of the room and sending a patronus to the Great Hall calling for anyone with any healing training. She promptly began to triage what they had waiting in the hallway and when Remus Lupin came running she tried to block him. Fred tried not to look at the devastation that crashed across his face, but got startled at the howl of grief and rage that ripped from him, his sides trembling for a moment as if he might change.

He lifted her gently and Fred went over in concern then, "Remus?"

"I sent her here, do you know that? I thought it was the safest spot, sent her to guard." It was as if his throat had been stuffed with glass shards, cutting and breaking him into just the pieces of his scars that covered him.

"Nobody would have expected-" Fred started, but Remus cut him off.

"I should have." Then he was carrying her out to lay her with the rest in the Great Hall, tears streaming unchecked down his face and it was achingly obvious the final marauder was never going to forgive himself. That no matter how many years would pass, how many people would tell him he couldn't have known, the last thing that had been the soothing balance to the moon in his life was no more, her star had burned out and taken him wholeheartedly with her in a supernova of grief.

* * *

Harry was still swirling in the pensive, watching and watching, trying to understand what all of this was supposed to even mean. Trying to put together the pieces of this puzzle Snape had left him with, finding each memory was falling innately into place in his head, answering questions he hadn't even known he'd had and those he most certainly knew he did.

…..

Dread and panic were in him, Lily was part of the Order force they were trying to ambush, her wand flashing and Sirius Black threw a jinx his way he hit the ground and stayed down. Not because he was hurt, but focused on trying to nonverbally keep counter jinxes around her, to stave off his fellows attacks at what they would see as the weakest target, holding eye contact as her horrible husband and his friends moved around her in a protective orbit, screaming at her, "Doe, go!"

She couldn't, not with her stupid Gryffindor bravery. Still they kept trying to tell her, Sirius yelling and throwing something at her, she went spinning madly off and there was finally a lull, all of Snape's companions on the ground by the quick wandwork from the Order side. "Padfoot?"

"Portkeyed Bambi and the baby." Sirius was unrepentant as he grinned at Potter and Lupin, idly flashing ropes around someone. "She'll probably puke. Always does."

"Godfather of the year." Potter was hugging him as Snape's world crashed around him. Lily could not be pregnant with that repulsive man's child. He stayed there in a strange sense of shock as everything, all, he had ever wanted spun away with him just as Lily had.

A pause, then recklessness that so characterized Black's character flared, "Don't be mad, Prongs."

The eyes of two best friends met and Lupin rolled his as if he already knew what was about to be said and Black showed he was not probably someone you should appoint as a godfather. "Well Prongs, you see, I've no clue where I sent her."

"Dammit Padfoot!" James Potter was completely furious. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you?"

"He meant well. I'll teach him how to do the charm properly." The werewolf tried to intercede. "Now let's get them all tied up and into questioning."

He rolled and twisted away from realizing there truly was no hope. Lily was having the baby of someone else, had built a life with him, had chosen these prankster friends to fill her life with.

She had truly abandoned him.

….

He turned from the conversation at an auburn head flitting by the lake, it was not her, and he turned back to the Headmaster who was watching him. "She'll need watching as well, Severus."

There was a thoughtful heaviness around him today, a tiredness as Severus had once again given him the potion to contain the curse in his hand and had not reminded those sharp blue eyes that it was less effective with each dose. He glanced, seeing her sitting with Harry and their friends, "For the boy?"

Albus got heavier, "For one of them."

"Why such interest in Miss Weasley's dating activities?"

Those blue eyes watching her laugh at something Harry said, flipping her hair in flirtation. He went to the cabinet and dug out the old destroyed diary emblazoned with Tom Marvolo Riddle's name, flipping it thoughtfully. "Mr. Riddle's very clever first attempt at seeking immortality did not execute as planned and I think he will find he has a number of unexpected consequences from his use of magic he did not yet understand." He shut his eyes, as he often did when delivering news the listener did not want to hear, "I think Ginny will find the same outcome from her actions. A heart may be broken, may be destroyed, but cannot be ungiven and that little Ginny surely gave. Love is a rather curious magic that way, the lasting power of it, long after it is thought gone it very often pops out of whatever compartment you've tried to hide it in, don't you think?"

"I take it your lunch with Aberforth was cheery." It was a laconically said, there was far too much truth there. Love long gone was what bound him to this chessboard Albus had them all on, had been the driving force for each Order member he'd meticulously groomed for whatever guess he had that they would be the only person for the job. For their spy ring was not just proper prefects and head boys and girls, it was the reckless, the troublemakers, the thieves. The gullibly expendable.

He was still, quietly flipping the diary for a time, "If my brain is not yet too addled to read the signs there will come a time when Tom might seek a connection with her. You must encourage it, Severus."

"So you have raised Potter to march him to his death and now yet another sacrifice." There was derision in his drawled tones, his lost trust at the long manipulation of his feelings over Lily to protect the boy. He didn't have any sort of opinion of Ginny Weasley as a person, but the fact that her red hair was the painfully exact shade Lily's had been just as much of a constant reminder of the past as Harry's resemblance of James Potter, of Harry's mother's eyes haunting him.

"No, in this case, I think perhaps the saving grace is a more apt description. Though that heavily depends on if Ginny is up to the task she has had the fortune to be set with." He was stunned into silence, a moment of reflection that was broken.

"What is that task?" He asked, knowing Albus had it laid out in his head already, had all of this carefully estimated in his speculations and arithmetic equations.

"I trust Ginny will find it in her own time. You must ensure she always receives her mail untampered, even if Hogwarts is put under control by Death Eaters."

"Why?"

"That is an egg for another basket. Which reminds me, I am woefully behind in my correspondences. Best to catch up sooner rather than later, given the circumstances, don't you think?" Albus' blue eyes gave a small twinkle at his frustration even as they dismissed him. Of course it was, of course he was being asked to do some menial task like making sure a child got her letters from her brothers without explanation. He wondered how this play would go once Albus was no longer the director, had let go of the puppet strings. If what he was rapidly trying to set in place with all of the players in private would pan out once the curtain rose.

* * *

"Cho?" Harry called hesitantly, shaking her a bit to try and break her stare, not wanting to look down. His eyes flicked anyway, there was Roger Davies who'd been courting her, there was what appeared to be her family.

Her legs gave out and her eyes focused, Harry lowered her weight, realizing she too was heavily injured. He flung up wand sparks, indicating emergency treatment. "I've lost everyone. Harry, we can't lose you too. Don't go."

He threw up another urgent call, he didn't even know where to start with healing her. His healing skills were limited to knowing he should drop dittany on a wound. Footsteps were coming and he needed to get into the woods to prevent another Cho Chang, to not have to see someone else staring at their entire family and future gone. "It's going to be okay, Cho."

He felt his magic tingle and tickle as she looked at him, before she passed out and he slipped the cloak on just as the group got there. He looked back as he ran, making sure they realized she was alive. There were footsteps in pursuit of him, someone had seen.

No, someone else was going.

"Ginny, what are you doing? Go back!" Harry yelled at her, trying to push her back to the castle and out of the forest where she'd followed him, ripping off the cloak.

"No. He's in me, I heard Ron and Hermione talking about horcruxes. That's what I am isn't? Harry, this isn't your choice and it can't end unless there aren't any more of what I carry, that's what Hermione said, that's why everyone's supposed to kill the snake. But everyone keeps refusing to kill me." She told him adamantly. "Maybe I can help calm his crazy down. He listens to me sometimes."

"Ginny, you aren't a horcrux." He shook her. "Stop asking people to kill you. I saw Snape's memories, Dumbledore said Lord Voldemort can't be near a soul like mine, near a soul like yours, 'tongue on frozen steel' You can be safe."

She shook him back, "Maybe my soul is different! Harry I don't know what's between the two of you, I know what's between he and I." Her breath was hot with emotion. "Harry, there are bodies everywhere. Why is my life any more important than theirs?"

She was blazing at him and he wondered if that was sweat or tears on her face. The answer was ever so simple. He pulled her into a hug and hit her with a stunner to the chest, whispering it as she went limp in his arms. "Because I love you."

He tucked her under bushes, with a soft brush against her lips in goodbye. For just as innately as he knew had to die, must willingly walk this path through the forest, Ginny could not, the gingerbread path Dumbledore had set in motion for her must come later.

* * *

Neville took Zabini out of a fireman's carry near Malfoy, not entirely sure what side he'd fought on, but slightly unsure where else to put him. He'd known Blaise almost all of his life in the pureblood circle he'd grown up in and had always appreciated that while Blaise knew about his parents, he kept his mouth shut. Had always privately thought it was Harry's crew and Dean's muggleborn status that took most of the Slytherin heat after that first broomstick accident because of Blaise's influences. Well thought that after the awful class of Moody's where they had seen the Unforgivable curses and Malfoy made a nasty comment about his reaction and Malfoy found himself in the hospital wing, poisoned just a little bit. He looked at Draco, who had not gone to the forest to join the other Death Eaters as his other Slytherins had. "Go help gather bodies if you're going to stay, Malfoy."

"Is he dead?" Malfoy was paler than his hair.

"No, but I've no clue what he was hit with. Saw one of the Bulgarians take him down by the lake." Neville had no idea what side the Bulgarian was on either, with so many imperiused or getting imperiused during the fight it had turned into a cluster of not knowing who to fight, of friendly fire, of the only consolation being their side wasn't throwing killing curses. There were no uniforms except for the inner circle of Death Eaters and everyone else had just descended into complete mayhem and started screaming "Potter?" before moving onto a different opponent if the name was screamed back in confirmation or starting to duel if the response was "Voldemort." He wasn't entirely sure who started it, but thought it might have been Seamus Finnigan, had heard him screaming it someone early on as he tried to figure out where a classmate's loyalties lay. Unfortunately Neville had witnessed the goblins near him not give any benefit of the doubt and tear them down and he got the heck away from them after that.

Draco was staring at Zabini, "I have been helping. Why do you think I'm covered in blood? Brown could have-"

"Lavender?" Neville cut him off in concern.

Draco nodded, voice missing the sneering condescension it had held for years, still not warm, not comforting, but not the affected tones. "Doubt she'll make it as mauled as she was. She got taken to trauma at St. Mungo's."

So they sent up sparks indicating medical treatment and headed out together, to see who else they could find in the last few moments of the standoff. Draco's voice not quite conversational, but quiet, "We should head towards Ravenclaw tower. They were the most divided house, loyalty wise, you know? It was a bloodbath, sibling against sibling. Saw a dad hex down-"

"Shut up, Draco." It was harshly said, but he didn't need to hear the details from his new companion in this awful search for bodies. For yes, Neville knew, many of Ravenclaw had siblings in Slytherin and he had seen them tearing each other apart in battle stuck on the swinging staircases. They were stopped by Professor Flitwick, somber, his blood streaked face covered in tears. "It's clear back there, boys."

* * *

Harry was surrounded by the not quite ghost, not quite real figures, far more than he had ever expected when he had flipped the Resurrection Stone. His parents very close to him, his mother's not quite hand holding his as if he was still a child, as if he could be. Yet there were more than just his parents, who he'd never gotten the chance to know, but had desperately wanted to. There were those he did know appearing, those who had stumbled their lives across with his, prioritized his over their own at so many turns. Tonks trying to be helpful with her favorite snout nose intact, from where her arms were looped through Mad-Eye Moody's and Sirius'. "It doesn't hurt at all, Harry. Right, Alastor?"

Sirius's voice trying to cheer him at the sight of her there at the shock followed rapidly by understanding what it meant, "Forgive her, she's new to the club, hasn't learned her manners yet, but she's right, easier than falling asleep."

Oliver Wood gave him a familiar nervous grin, "Just another match, Harry. You've practiced, you're ready."

It seemed somehow fitting that he who had walked next to Harry down the hallway to the that first quidditch match where he caught the snitch still clutched in his hand, to many more, who had cheered and yelled at them was there, giving yet another pep talk. It also seemed terribly unfair, but Harry couldn't dwell on that, he was taking this walk so there were no more Oliver Woods tonight. Just another match, he liked that thought, sometimes you purposefully lost quidditch matches to get easier opponents in the playoffs and he had practiced for this, dueled Lord Voldemort and stood terrified and wandless before him in the Little Hangleton graveyard the night he returned. This feeling truly wasn't so different from walking down the hallways from the dressing room to quidditch pitch, heart slamming in his chest in nervousness as his body geared it's fight or flight reaction. He had thought that was the most terrifying thing for the longest time, those final steps before they went on the pitch in their quest for the cup. Maybe dying would feel like flying, he could be alright with that.

He pushed that thought away for there was Dobby, falling into step by Percy and Mr. Weasley. It wrenched in him, but Dobby was all smiles as guilt flooded Harry. "Dobby, I'm sorry."

"No, Harry Potter, no sorries. Dobby had the noble death of saving friends. Dobby is happy with its." Dobby who he had once asked to never again try and save his life, had given friendship in his own peculiar way and Harry paused his steps to take one last ghostly embrace from the enthusiastic little elf. Perhaps the little crazy friend he had was right, there was nobility in dying to save everyone else, that it was the best reason to die. If Dobby who'd loved his mismatched socks and Hermione hats could die and smile at him like he'd just been freed again, Harry could try and emulate him.

"You're welcome to share my bathroom, Harry." Moaning Myrtle was twirling a pigtail as she giggled and he realized the ghosts too had come to join this fleet of the dead escorting him like an honor guard, those dying in the Great Hall floating after them.

"Hey Harry!"

"Hey Colin." It was an automatic reaction to younger boy who had constantly felt the need to eagerly greet him on sight in an unwavering sense of awe. Then it crashed down as it sunk in what it meant and determination flooded him as he walked, even if it meant he would have to spend eternity greeting Colin Creevey, something that he had spent years finding vaguely annoying.

A fleeting thought that it would have been nice if Dumbledore had been there too in this strange mishmash of people offering comfort as he went to join them in whatever the next realm was, even if he had merely been grooming Harry for years to be able to take this walk to his own slaughter, like a cow going down into a chute. What was stranger was that there was comfort in it, in this cocoon of everything from friendship to love, a quieting and true acceptance of his fate. They had believed in him, all of them and so much of the guilt he carried for their deaths fell away step after step. His parents, killed by a prophecy that could have meant more than one boy did not blame him. Cedric who's death he'd directly caused in those moments in the maze where respect and the not quite friendship had led them to take the cup together was giving him an encouraging smile. Moody who had died evacuating him seemed still to be looking vigilantly around, but was made whole again, no scars, no magical eye, no leg, just a man. Hedwig's ghost of a nip at his ear as she had done so many times in comfort or agitation at being stuck in her cage at the Dursleys. Sirius, perhaps was the hardest to see, had been such a driving force in his life, but had thrown his arm across Harry's shoulder for a moment, the ghost like touch aching. "Pops Prongs was pissed when I showed up and told him I'd gotten myself killed by being reckless godfather. Told him Moony would take good care of you."

The guilt fell off for him too, love for his free natured godfather bubbling up as he watched his father shove him off and replace his own not quite corporeal arm. It flitted through him that he had avoided Ron and Hermione, who he had always imagined would be standing by him when it was over, not even realizing how many other people had stood just a few paces behind them, but here they were and even as his palms began to sweat in cold fear at seeing the edges of the camp there was a thankfulness in being able to see that, to feel this. So they walked, they walked to the end, each telling him they were here in their own ways and if nothing else walking to the gallows with the Deathly Hallows was worth that.

He dropped the stone as he neared the camp, no more than he could let Ginny go, could he let all of them see this. For this was between exactly and only two people, perhaps two sides of the same coin, perhaps simply bound, but more than not having parents, more than Sirius and Remus, more than Dumbledore, Tom Riddle had shaped Harry's life and was now needed to shape his death.

* * *

A/N: Would truly love your thoughts at this critical juncture!


	31. The Final Fights

A/N: You might get some feels, you might not, you might at one point pause and think I'm insane (probably valid, but hey you've read so far), but I do hope you enjoy it, for you have read this far, you have walked with with a strange mishmash of people just as Harry had and for that, I truly thank you. I'll warn you, this gets even more AU than we already are, since I always found the end of DH just a bit out of sync from the rest of the series. I won't say I'm perfectly thrilled with how it turned out, but each rewrite seems to just bobble my mind more, so we're going with this!

* * *

The Final Fights

Harry glanced around, sort of wishing there was a clock in the station, even though he was in no real rush, it was simply odd there not being one. "Professor Dumbledore, may I ask something about your fight with Grindelwald?" He paused, "Or is that too personal?"

"Go right ahead, Harry." It was said with open kindness.

"Why didn't you kill him?" It was blurted, then Harry tried to soften it, "I mean, surely you could have."

"Ah, a wise question for one in your position. The wand very much wanted me to, but quite simply I did not feel the need." He mused, "Perhaps because we'd known each other as youth and I had a glimpse into his personality. He was quick to temper and was sent to Godric's Hollow to avoid a scandal back home, but he was not, I think inherently evil or even unkind. Perhaps not, but I very much wanted to give him the chance for remorse."

Harry mused for a moment, "So you don't think Lord Voldemort is just pure evil?"

He shook his head, beard swinging slightly, words slow and thoughtful, as if this was a topic he'd mused on for decades. "I think evil manifests many different ways in our world. In Tom's case, I think especially with Ginny, we see there is another side to him that he never explored. We've spoken of how if he does not see a magic's value, he doesn't take the time to understand it, I believe the same can be said for feelings."

"What about Ginny? One of Snape's-"

"Professor Snape, Harry." It was said with a gentle twinkle almost as if after so many times this correction had become an inside joke. "Ah, Ginevra Weasley. She is the failsafe, I must confess. The hope being that if we could not win, or if you met your demise early, she would have enough influence on his soul by then to be the softening factor in the resulting regime. Tom Riddle has loved her for a very long time and as each horcrux fell away, she has gained more of what she left in him during the soul exchange."

"Errr, that might not be a great backup plan." It slipped out. Ginny was not anyone he would want in the softening position. He loved her, Ginny had an extremely gentle and loving side, but Ginny was also made of a core Harry did not possess. She had a lower threshold for nonsense than even Hermione did and much less grace in her handling of difficult situations. From what Harry had been told had essentially been handling their connection by being extremely rude to him or scolding him. He backpedaled madly, he hadn't meant to insult Dumbledore's mind, saying the first thing that popped into his, "It's not been a long time. It's just been a week or so."

Dumbledore nodded at him, "Ah, but it has, depending on if you view time as linear or branched, there is much debate on that subject, but that I think is a discussion for another time. Do forgive me for intruding on a private moment, but I believe Ginny mentioned the instability of time magic in the Prewett line?"

"Charlie's apparently awful at apparating correctly." Harry confirmed.

"As is Miss Weasley, but she does not recall her misstep, as I thought it prudent to take it from her. For I feared she would be rather traumatized by it as she was at the time it occurred. There's rather a complicated time paradox between them, I'm afraid. Ginny is both the cause and the effect of the creation of the diary. It was created for her, only ever for her and your intervention to save her life left quite the connection between them, as we've seen." He gave a smile, "Forgive me for the long winded explanation, Harry, but as time does not seem to matter in this place I shall use the liberty of taking it."

"Go right ahead." Harry assured him, extremely curious, he had always wondered how Ginny would have been different if she'd not had it, for Ron did say afterwards Ginny had changed quite a bit, made her grow up far too fast.

"I believe Sirius once mentioned how many protections existed on Grimmauld Place?" Harry nodded and he went on, "They are the result of Ginny's bobble. Tom Riddle, two years above Orion Black was pleased to earn money as the wealthy younger student's tutor and was walking from his orphanage to Grimmauld when several things collided at once, as serendipitously they often do. Ginny, whom had been listening to Sirius talk about his father became so heavily startled she apparated accidentally back to his time and understandably confused, she fled from the house as the Blacks were trying to hex their unexpected visitor. Tom had just noticed the pretty girl in strange clothes, holding a wand when the bomb raid sirens from the second muggle great war began going off, far too late for their area. Surprising even himself with his great fear of death, I suspect, he grabbed Ginny who did not know what it meant and took her into the nearest cellar he knew of along with himself. He was not completely ignoble then, had not yet destroyed his soul." Dumbledore paused and glanced back at the shriveled, whimpering little thing.

"So he saved Ginny's life?" Harry tested out the idea that it was even possible, that Tom Riddle had once saved a life rather than take it. Then it filtered in that he had been willing to spare his mother's life for Snape, that he had shut the Chamber for his own selfish reasons to stay at school.

"Ah, I think it is correct to say he changed it. For there in the darkness they confided and shared as only strangers can do in such a situation as then too Ginny did not recognize with whom she spoke. Against whose chest she curled during the longest bombing London suffered and collapse of the structure above them, trapping them. Did not know whom the boy terrified of dying she comforted in that selflessly warm Weasley way had never had such an affection freely given to him without thought." He twinkled then and Harry oh so identified with him in that moment, for Mrs. Weasley was the closest thing he had to a mother, mollycoddled him like he was her own. A memory drifted in of wondering if that was like a mother's touch felt like as he broke down in her arms after Cedric and the beaming, teary smile she had given him after he'd once merely parroted Ron having not even listened to whatever was said and replied 'Yes, Mum'.

"I see you too understand the draw of that comfort. He was at just the age where those first chances at love are and a pretty girl from the future would be intriguing, I suspect, to many a young man. He very much did not want the girl sleeping against his chest to go back to her own time when I, conveniently in London for a visit with Elphias, went along to offer my assistance to what presumably was a dead or injured student when he did not flag to let the Ministry know he was alive. Much as he once asked to be allowed to stay at Hogwarts over breaks, he requested to be allowed to keep her."

"Then why-" Harry started and got a smile.

"I can only conjecture as Ginny's memory offered no more on this point. Nor did Tom's, from what little I could see for even then he was training in Occlumency. I suspect he did not want to share her with anyone, not even himself, knowing where he was planning to go, so he recorded himself in a diary. Ginny was the intended prize of him coming out of the diary, not the intended owner, but as prophecies often are, Lucius misinterpreted it and gave it to Ginny."

Dumbledore twiddled his thumbs letting Harry kindly process and mentally curse Ginny for well, not doing anything wrong purposefully, most certainly not doing anything right to land herself in such a quintessential quagmire. It caused him to wonder at how many of his problems had been so much of his own making over merely circumstances that happened to him, as he had so often thought. He had been the reason the Mirror of Erised had been moved from an empty classroom to behind what was likely originally, an extremely cleverly designed trap. He had at least never denied that he played half the song in his contentious duets with Dudley and Draco.

"The mixture of the fledging feelings and the path he had taken to make it were at extreme odds. For just as as death is required to make a horcrux, so is hate and the diary was made out of desire to feel that warmth again. Just as you and he have traveled down hithero unknown paths of magic, so he has with Ginny." He paused thoughtfully, to look at the terrible little crying thing. "Perhaps your ties to her are indeed another rebound of the curse, just like the parseltongue. I suppose you shall see if you go back."

"What?" Harry was still reeling with the fact that there was a possibility that his love for Ginny was forced. It filtered back in, how one day Harry had very much felt the uncontrollable urge to go and find her, had uncharacteristically hugged her and gotten an 'Alright there, Harry?' as she studied him. Had felt it was the first time he'd truly looked at her, anxiety running in his veins at her safety, noting that the girl who absentmindedly passed him turkey sandwiches in her quest for corned beef at their house table was strikingly beautiful. His fledgling crush had gone into overdrive after that, there had been an ache when he saw her with Dean, a jealous little monster that did not like seeing it living in chest. There had been no more thoughts of asking Susan Bones to Hogsmeade, there had only been jealousy at watching her slide into the table with Dean's arm going around her. Not knowing what else to say, just said, "Well how do you get someone back to the future?"

Dumbledore laughed, amused. "Quite simple really, you mark when and where they need pickup and where they are from and a flag will duly go up at the Ministry in their time. If it is close enough back a very specialized time turner was utilized, since those were destroyed Charlie Weasley goes and fetches them. His official adjunct title at the Ministry, at his request, was changed from Time Travel Liaison to Courier Pigeon, it tickles me greatly." He stopped to almost giggle for it did appear to heavily amuse him, Harry smiled, Charlie could be professional, a hothead, good natured, but one thing Harry had never seen him do was take himself too seriously and Harry had come to envy that quality in others. "Many wizards can fall backwards, but very few can fall forward as he can."

"But then why did Riddle wait so long to form the connection? To start harassing her?"

"Ah, that too is an easy answer. In the rush of getting to safety they skipped pleasantries and there comes a point in a long conversation where it just seems rather rude or too late to ask. Until he peered down at her trying to lure you, I do not believe he connected the naive, sheltered, little girl Lucius had mistakenly wasted the diary on with the much changed young woman that had so stricken him. For Ginny was careful and obeyed time travel rules, not giving names, though I suspect she gave away more than she thought, for Tom is a very clever conversationalist." Dumbledore looked thoughtful as he walked, "Secondly, I do not think it had occurred to him that Ginny would have someone else, that others would have seen what he did, for he was used to thinking he saw much more than others. Nor did he expect to find it was his only relative with magical blood."

"What? They're related?" Harry was in complete shock.

"Ralph Riddle Robinson, Tom Riddle Sr's life did not stop as Merope's did and he sowed a wild oat, discovered by the mother only in passage to a new life in Australia, she chose not to keep the child. It was rather a shock to see the name on the rolls again, I confess. I chose not to divulge what I found to young Mr. Robinson who like most muggleborns was quite desperate to find out if he had magical ties. At the time I thought it a kindness, as I so often shielded you Harry from the harsh truths."

He got very contemplative again and Harry wondered if he once again would be comforting his old Headmaster, who in this long conversation Harry had discovered was just a man, a flawed man, but a man like any other. More brilliant and powerful than most, but still, merely a man faced with choice after choice, fork after fork in the road that he must chose a path down. A man who in life, gifted with such brilliance and power, had few confidants because of it. It did not make this any easier, for Harry had built up quite a bit of doubt and rage at him on the Hunt, reading a book and realizing he did not know the man behind the spectacles at all. Seeing Snape's memories and understanding that while a fondness may lay between them, it did not mean he wasn't being used. "Should I have told you more, Harry? Was my blindness to and underestimation of what children could handle what led to so many of the dangerous situations you found yourself in?"

"A little more information might have been nice." Harry attempted tactfully, then quickly added. "So I could have made better decisions."

There was still that confused anger that was starting to dissipate. Well, but really, it was probably your fault quite a bit I kept almost getting myself and my friends killed at the end of every school year. Also definitely your fault that I was stuck with the Dursleys for eleven years and nobody but Mrs. Figg checked on me, like couldn't you have sent Remus to teach English at my primary school or something so I had some tie to a parental figure? Seriously, what were you doing? Off hunting for horcruxes or being brilliant? Because it clearly wasn't running a school safely for a bunch of kids, perhaps there was a reason the Board of Governors kept pulling you. Forbidden forest that's off limits, just kidding, we send eleven year olds in there for detention with a scared dog to protect them. Oh, there's a bunch of petrified people and apparently no mature mandrakes anywhere in the world that we could just use some of the school budget to purchase and not leave them like that for months. Hermione still got irate about that every time they'd run across a charm or something they'd learned while she'd just been lying there with the answer in her hand. Presumed mass murder is on the loose, let's hire one of his best friends and have a sleep over in the Great Hall when he's running around with a knife. That tournament that kept getting champions killed so it got banned, surely it's an excellent idea to put a lot of time and effort into resurrecting it for the exact same thing to happen. Let's keep Harry in the complete dark about everything, but make him spends massive amounts of time with the person he hates most, because we don't know any other Legilimens, in the hope they'll become friends while there's a blood quill on the loose. He had a stray thought that perhaps indeed it was best that Dumbledore's fear of power prevented him from taking the oft offered role of Minister of Magic, for what would have come to the wizarding world if left to his judgement calls left serious questions in his mind.

He seemed to sense Harry's rambling thoughts and smiled, "Ah, Harry, I see you have come to the conclusion I very rapidly did. When made Headmaster the first thing I did was appoint Minerva McGonagall as Deputy Headmistress for I feared without her steadying balance I would have made far more mistakes. I am prone to guessing and gambling, she is very much not."

Thank Godric for that stroke of brilliance. "I can't imagine Hogwarts without her."

"Nor can I think, Hogwarts itself. Sentient as the castle is, it is extremely attached to her. Especially, I think after tonight. It has wanted to act like a true castle for a very long time and she called it to arms." He teared up again, "I am incredibly proud of her. I do confess after what happened to Ariana when Minerva, broken hearted and parents just murdered came to apprentice, I grew very protective of her. She and I had a bond somewhere between sibling and parent, boss and subordinate in the close friendship we enjoyed and it was one of the greatest treasures of my life."

Harry patted at him again, deciding being dead appeared to be rather an emotional experience. Perhaps he had not been part of Harry's final walk because he'd refused to move on without being able to explain to Harry and therefore could not walk along side them, for he was the final escort. Maybe he'd gone spare in self reflection waiting here for almost a year, in what had just been mist until Harry had figured everything out that he needed to get on with it and go die. For this conversation of Grindelwald, dead sisters, broken promises, guesses, lifetime mistakes, wands, Ginny, McGonagall did seem to be overwhelming for both of them. "I'm sure McGonagall knows that."

He cleared and smiled, "Oh, Aberforth was a terrible tease about my attachment to her and multiple refusals to fire her at some sharply said words to the Board."

"Sounds like Ginny." It slipped out.

"Ah yes, Miss Weasley. Harry, I do ask one last thing of you. If you choose to go back, for I think you can and that you can win, do not interfere with what lies between them. Just as you walked willingly to your death, Ginny too must not have her hand forced if she is to shift things."

"Errr, you know she gets impulsive sometimes, dragon stealing and what not." He paused, thinking of their brief relationship and their friendship, "Ginny can't really control her emotions. Sort of buries them until it's too much and she can't handle it anymore. Then you know, everything just explodes for her."

"That, dear Harry, is exactly what I'm counting on if you do decide to go back." Well that wasn't cheering.

"That's an interesting gamble." It was all he could think to say.

"Like I said, I'm a gambling man."

* * *

Hermione was in the crowd, shaking with rage and horror at seeing Harry dead, she didn't know how many times she'd screamed his name, until they'd been forcibly silenced. Voldemort seemed bemused by them, by their outrage, wand flashing as a green settee appeared next to him, holding Ginny in his arms. "Send me a healer for Ginevra."

"Healers would be easier to get if you didn't slaughter them all." George was equally enraged, further fury growing on his face at Bellatrix' delighted laugh.

"Miss your great Auntie?" Another shrill, deranged laugh until her master waved her mouth shut.

"What did you do to her?" Fred screamed it in rage even as he was moving forward, healer bag over his shoulder.

"Those vile horsemen trampled her." He stroked her hair, "Don't worry, sweet Ginevra, you'll be revenged." He eyed Fred, "Not you, give me a female healer."

Mrs. Weasley went forward, snatching the bag from her son and Voldemort made no move to stop her.

His voice was triumphant, "To show you my commitment to rebuilding the wizarding world united as one under my rule, I'd like to present my bride, Ginevra." There was a pause, horror emanating from their side, Mrs. Weasley coming to a complete halt, but there on Ginny's finger was indeed a large Slytherin shaded emerald.

Bill started to shake beside her in rage, his face completely stubborn as Voldemort settled a bloody Ginny down with a kiss. She had the vague countenance of shock over it all, eyes drifting towards Harry on repeat, completely ignoring the fact Voldemort kept touching her.

"As head of family, permission denied." Bill swung back and his axe went sailing, flicked aside by Voldemort's wand and came whizzing back to Bill who reached up and caught it. Hermione was going to take the damn thing away from him and very firmly told him to give it to her through their bond, as mad as he was he could have hit Ginny. She got a very firm denial back, it was his axe and he was keeping it. "Ginny is already under courtship."

"Ah, yes. Where is the little foul mouthed mudblood?" Voldemort still sounded very delighted, anticipatory. Hermione looked around wildly, taller even than Bill he was easy to spot, arms crossed with a steady stance near the back with the dragons, others in dragon riding gear around him. At least three dragon tamers had hands ready to restrain on him, clearly thinking he was going to charge. As he opened his mouth she saw Cormac McLaggen hit him with a silencing charm and get a glare in return. They'd taken his voice, but he had more than that at the moment. He wasn't looking at Voldemort though, he was looking at Ginny and gave her a half smile that only belonged to the two of them. One of those looks that existed only between couples, a conversation in a glance. Then he looked at Voldemort and as he raised one eyebrow every dragon went airborne and swooped the Death Eaters scattering them as they screamed and ran. Voldemort himself ducking and throwing a bubble shield around himself and Ginny, who did not seem at all phased or in fear. Angus the Bloody promptly ate two, before they went and resettled near their humans. The move very much said you have your army, I have mine, but mine can eat yours. The rest of the wild young men who tamed dragons were giving mad cheers of triumph, throwing the most obscene insults Hermione had ever heard, echoed by the rest of their side and the very pleased, preening dragons. Hermione now realized why Charlie couldn't get through a conversation with his mother without being scolded for language and retorting that he didn't even know he was cursing. Hermione was close enough to hear McGonagall's soft, half scold, half impressed, "Language, boys."

Ginny showed her first reaction and smiled back at him, a soft, proudly exasperated head shake, before turning to her dark companion. "Angus said Rowle tasted disgusting. He's my dragon." Voldemort started to open his mouth, but Ginny went on, smiling at another little act of defiance. Dropping to whisper to Lord Voldemort just as Bill did to her.

"If Ralph starts letting them flame, help me stun him. He's been keeping them under control because of the Imperioused, but the last thing we need is for him to lose his temper with 18 dragons behind him."

She nodded and very much wanted to show defiance herself, making eye contact with Ron, they had been on this journey with Harry since he started it. They knew more than anyone else in the crowd how much Harry had been through to have his life cut short, how brave he'd been, how selfless, constantly selfless. Bill's hand squeezed around her stomach, stilling her, reminding her of the little charge she now had to protect, but what kind of life would their little one have if they lost?

Voldemort was becoming increasingly enraged at this continued non acceptance to his terms, this defiant crowd that kept refusing to back down. He was also rapidly losing control of the situation, of his triumphant announcement of victory. He started repeating his lies that Harry ran and died trying to get away, yet somehow still nobody on their side believed him.

* * *

He could not see with the Sorting Hat forced down over his eyes, only hear that he was going to be a demonstration.

No. Neville could not accept that, could not face that fate. Would not, for he had everything taken from him during the last reign of this mad king. So many lives had been ruined or forever altered, his parents, his grandmother and great uncles and his own. There would be no more children that had to be reassured their parents really knew deep down who they were, no more children that saved gum wrappers or checkerboard pieces because that was all their mother could give them, the only way she had possessed for seventeen years to show that she loved him. No more children that only got to meet their parents on a potion. There was no stopping this fight.

The snake. They had said kill it.

 _Kill the snake, you say?_

Kill the snake, he confirmed to the Sorting Hat.

He would not back down, that was not what his parents had done before him. Would not let Hogwarts be only Slytherin.

 _My job would be dreadfully boring then._

"Neville, here will demonstrate what happens to anyone who continues to oppose me."

The hat that had been forced on his head and blocked his view and had been listening to his thoughts burst into flames. Godric- he started to curse and got thunked in the head. He found he could move, not knowing if it was the Sorting Hat, his own sheer determination or someone in the crown who'd undone the body bind. He pulled the burning thing off and ripped out a sword and once again went charging at Voldemort who in blocking Ginny exposed the snake and with one giant slash upward, one glinting, gleaming rush of steel that was dominating the rest of the mayhem colliding in this moment the snake's head flew off and he swore the sword sang while she did it. It flew in an arc, frozen, dead eyed as the everything else collided, smashing anti climatically into the ground.

There was no time to relish in his triumph or listen to the Sorting Hat's song of defiance as it burned. A giant was rushing along with centaurs. Hippogriffs and thestrals forcing giant spiders to flee before them, there was screams of a roaring crowd coming down the hill that Charlie and Aberforth were leading with terrifying war cries. Everyone was shoving, getting forced back into the building to let the battle of magical creatures outside continue without human intervention. A voice he'd heard Howler her son and fight with was screaming at her leprechauns to attack. Godric, Seamus really hadn't been lying to them all of those years.

A glance showed Merpeople with bubbles of water over their heads following a shark headed Viktor Krum from the lake with tridents and spears to engage with what appeared to giant alligators, the veelas fireballs joining them. The roars of the dragons overhead deafening just as dangerous as the fire they were throwing at the giant birds of prey and sphinx that had come. There was a high clear song as the phoenix stopped their healing efforts and went to battle. Ginny was right beside him, being shoved along by Lord Voldemort, when she bashed her head forcefully into his neck and he choked. Neville grabbed her, realizing running with this sword was going to get himself or someone else killed, but cut the cords loosely binding her wrists, stray thought that he should have grabbed the hat as a scabbard. They ran, jostled in the huge mess and then Neville saw her. Hannah.

He had a sword. He'd killed the snake. He knew they could not lose and rushed over to her, for full of confidence there was one thing left he needed. The girl. He grabbed her and smashed his lips onto hers, kissing her in a way he'd never kissed a girl, had never kissed her in their very tentative and gentle dating. Kissed her so hard his soul shook, her arms twining up around his neck and meeting him with equal passion in the middle of everything going on. This two made a sight all eyes saw, the sword held at her back, bloody and raised through the crowd, steel like a beacon. He pulled away and looked down at her, "Formally court with me?"

"Yes." It was said in an excited rush, fingers twining, because Hannah was so perfect she deserved for him to show her that he would take those steps. He grinned, she grinned back in one moment of elation. Neville had everything now. Then they were running, moving again to avoid getting trampled. They got into the hall and he headed for Ron, dueling Rookwood before seeing his Gran engaged with Detteir, who had helped torture his parents and went that way. He got to his gran before realizing he didn't have a wand and started just trying to use the sword like one finding that it did indeed work and very powerfully too.

* * *

Bill found himself back to back with Remus, rapidly being surrounded by the remaining adults of Greyback's pack, dueling three at once. They were dropping like flies, most were untrained wizards who had not stepped foot in Hogwarts, some who'd embraced their inner wolf so much they had changed. He and Remus had found an initial rhythm quickly for those fighting as werewolves, Bill would hit them with a jaw sticking charm and Remus with a declawing charm, taking savage pleasure in hearing their howls of pain. Down and down they went until only the heavily mauled, partially delimbed Greyback remained, too mauled to even change, "How's your little wifey?"

As badly as he wanted to do it, he had tortured Greyback enough for both himself and for Hermione, had left him there to die in agony. He dodged the hex thrown his way. His life hadn't been significantly changed, besides what he saw in the mirror, but Remus' had been defined by what this man had done. "Yours, Remus."

"Together." Remus disagreed and Bill nodded, two wands flashed and one stain on humanity and werewolf kind flew backwards into a wall with a sickening crunch, sinking to the ground, glassy eyed. There wasn't exactly triumph in it, but there was relief and a satisfaction in knowing there would be no more children bitten by him, no more threat to Hermione.

Remus was startled next to him, "Andromeda what are you doing here? Where the hell is Teddy?"

She was in between duels, rushing over to them, voice dropping, "Safe and hidden, Remus. If we lose they'll come for him, being what he is. You know dark wizards hunt them."

"Thank you." Remus answered before rushing off at Slughorn falling out of the duel with Voldemort, stepping in to take his place beside McGonagall and Kingsley.

Bill turned and got immediately angry at seeing the Malfoys huddled right near them, if Voldemort won it would come out what Narcissa had done. "You're screwed either way. At least put your wand in action, Lucius. Bloody fucking coward."

Then he was off, running for Ron, throwing a shield in front of him as he staggered from another bloody hex. Ron was a good duelist, but Rookwood had no mercy and was throwing dark curses Ron had never heard of and could not block. He shoved his extremely bloody brother behind him and started throwing hexes he'd learned at Goblin school, the nasty ones for when you accidentally stumbled across Inferi or reanimated mummies. Distracted by the new onslaught Rookwood was unable to block Ron's stunner and fell, Ron hit him again, took the wand and they kept moving until the great duels forced them and the rest of the crowd to the edges of the room. Bill trying to support Ron's weight, gesturing for Fred to come try and stem some of the bleeding.

* * *

While viewed as a children's story, or a physical quest, there was much more to the Deathly Hallows than that, the mastery of death could lie not just in objects, but in the right mix of people. The theory, hotly debated amongst vigilant believers, was in current contest as those three Hallows were united as they dueled against Bellatrix Lestrange.

There was Luna, the resurrection stone, the girl who fed thestrals, missed a mother and danced in and out of everyone else's version of reality. The girl whose haunting alternate ways so often helped others get back to themselves when feeling lost or alone asking nothing in return, helping them resurrect who they were when they vulnerable. There was Hermione, the cloak that had shielded others so many times, often invisible and unthanked in her constant support of everyone, for the cloak's true gift lay in the ability to shield others, not just the wearer. For Hermione had never left Harry's side, had helped Hagrid for ages on his case for Buckbeak, had knit hat after hat for house elf rights, had been the constant plan maker to hide them from trouble. There was Ginny, dodging a curse, double wanded with her own bloody trail across this war, the elder wand that came into play only when it needed using and by far the most volatile of three Hallows. Chamber opening, rebellion leading, dragon stealing, unmastered Ginny who showed Tom Riddle having a thing was not the same as being able to use it.

Their mistress was one Molly Weasley, who too selflessly could possess them and with a scream entered herself into action, "Get away from my daughters, you bitch."

For there was Ginny, her blood, Hermione, hers by marriage and Luna, hers by heart after losing her own was tucked under a motherly wing across the hill to fill in the feathers Xenophilius could not. And she was dueling Death herself, Bellatrix Lestrange. The woman who had killed Sirius, Tonks, Arthur, countless others in her trail of destruction at the left hand of the Dark Lord could not win, could not overcome a brutally determined poor, dumpy housewife. People would stop to line the walls to get away from the duel between Voldemort, Kingsley, McGonagall and Remus and very far away from the one between Molly Weasley and Bellatrix. Especially as Molly Weasley kept yelling at everyone "Get back. She's _mine._ " Forcibly blasting Bill away when he tried to aid in intervention, finding that he might be able to hex the woman that had tortured his Hermione.

Bellatrix was snarling at Mrs. Weasley, sweat dripping in her hair as what would be the second most famous duel of the second war progressed, would watch Molly Weasley flick aside curses thrown at her as if waving off a gnat, would feel the swell of an aura as Harry once had of Dumbledore's laying pinned in atrium of the Ministry. Would watch Voldemort pause and look at his favorite little lieutenant in very deep trouble. When taunted by the manic, laughing voice, "Aww, what will the little babies do when Mummy's gone like Daddy."

Mrs. Weasley would take on such a countenance of rage that Bellatrix paused just long enough for the Gryffindor house banner that Mrs. Weasley had brought into action to begin strangling her. Mrs. Weasley took the time as she struggled out of it to walk over and very resoundingly slap her across the face. "You will not touch my children, not any child ever again."

Then they were back at it, twirling and hexing. Smashing and blocking and still Bellatrix could not overcome her. Bellatrix shrieking in rage at being slapped, her arm outstretched and Mrs. Weasley hit true. She twirled, looking very shocked, looking very much like Sirius in that moment and hit the ground with Mrs. Weasley's red handprint the last fading color from her face.

"Bloody hell." George said to Fred, not realizing it would carry. "Glad I always put my laundry away."

"Shush. I never lost my temper with you children." Mrs. Weasley scolded, sounding smug and slightly out of breath.

Fred would look at George, 'Thought you did loads of times."

"Guess we were very wrong." George told him back and grinned at his mother.

"You were the sweetest Mum ever."

"Angelic really."

Voldemort was hissing in rage at seeing her there and as Harry screamed a shield charm at Mrs Weasley as Voldemort stepped over to kill her, someone else stepped in just as Harry went to expose himself.

Ginny had run to the middle, "NO!"

He paused, keeping on the cloak, hoping Dumbledore was right, because letting Ginny do whatever was going to hurt like hell. His heart knew that.

* * *

"Ginevra, Get out of the way." Lord Voldemort commanded her.

"Ginny, no!" Her mother screamed at her, 'What are you doing?"

Everyone was screaming at her and in the back of her magic, their magic, there was only trust and steadiness. He was on a dragon somewhere, but had told her to pull if she needed to. It flooded her with strength, she had no idea what she was doing, but that trust made it somehow okay for her to flounder, to be bold. She screamed the disarming curse, neatly catching his wand, and he looked startled that she'd just dared shoot a spell at him.

"Because life matters. Every life." She looked at the crowd, "Even his."

She turned again, even more imploring as Lord Voldemort made move to come closer. "Just, just take me and leave everyone else alone. Destroy me, not the world, remember? Please, Tom."

"You aren't in the position to make such offers anymore, sweet Ginevra. I've already won." It was drawled into a soft hiss.

"No, Tom. You haven't. I think that's pretty obvious considering everyone is still fighting you." She hissed back, "You want my affection. My heart willingly given."

He didn't deny her words.

For here at the edge of a battle, they were surrounded by scared bloody faces and empty eyed bodies watching their exchange. This packed hall was a significant chunk of was left of the adult wizarding world for the UK. He had called her his little candle, his Persephone, his sweet Ginevra and she understood now, everything crystallizing. "I told you I'd teach you how to love, remember? We're in a school, perfect place for a lesson."

"Really not the time, Ginny." It was one of her brothers muttering it under his breath.

Except it was, he had burned the world and there was nothing left to set on fire but herself.

So Ginny Weasley showed the boldest, brashest thing about her wasn't her words, it was her heart and she opened the connection between them in some desperate attempt to make him understand that spilling all of this magical blood had to stop. She willed, she wanted, she pushed her magic, yanked Ralph's, dragged the dragons behind him, pulled Charlie anchoring him down, she pushed until it wasn't the Dark Lord and a teenage girl. It was Tom and just Ginny at the edge of the world, maybe at the end of it and she shoved every ounce of love she'd ever experienced and he'd never had down what lay between them. Words, the feeling of being hugged, the softness of being rocked to sleep, her mother braiding her hair, her father sneaking her an extra chocolate frog, the brothers who teased dutifully playing tea party, the explosion of glitter that had burst out of her in excitement that Charlie was bringing Ralph, the friend in the diary, the warmth of Harry as he helped her out of the Chamber, the scolding from her parents as she sobbed afterwards, giggling with Hermione and Luna as they got ready for Hogsmeade, letters on pages, snapping at Ron and feeling bad but knowing it would be fine, the anticipatory moments before a first kiss, the jealousy at Dean's flirting, watching Harry walk away from her and aching, understanding, but aching all the same. She pulled everything else, pulled from the dragons, blowing fire at their nest mates experimentally, playing with their humans and learning that noise was laughter, trying to sing along with the music their humans were playing, twining necks with your mate. Charlie dropping down next to a nervous Percy at breakfast with a pat, Bill telling Charlie it was good luck to puke before your first match, a fist flinging in outrage at that slur, hearing the word witch said to her like it was real and her mother's face showing it was okay, Hermione smiling at Bill over her juice at the Burrow uncaring of the new fresh scars, Bill throwing dirt at her as they planted their garden. She pulled and pulled, all of it gushing through her in a river of fire and she glimpsed only pieces that poured in him.

She took the candle that was her in his soul, lit it to a torch, burned it into a wildfire in him. He wanted to build a world, she'd help him build one full of that, full of love and light, not this hierarchical hatred. His form flickered to what he looked like before, but she couldn't redirect the rapids running through her and as the one thing she'd tried to hold back from him came to high tide, he wanted to see her romances. To see what that love was like. He pulled and they came the good and the hard that was the truth of any love. Bickering with Dean, a wild public post quidditch match kiss, hands held as they talked and talked by the lake, laughing so hard she snorted at Harry's comment about Snape, being left and wanting to hate Harry yet so unable to and being mad at herself instead for getting her hopes up, her head against a chest and just listening to the soothing heartbeat, catching Ralph eating the cake batter and looking like a naughty child being caught, the first tentative spat, the heady makeup kisses upon realizing they'd both just been saying the same thing differently, the moment where you want to say you love them but get too nervous. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't even pretty at times, but it was love at it's rawest. The image of a ring on a hand wrapped around a Beltane torch there for Tom to see. He realized their magic was bound, her wildfire to Ralph's rapids, compatible, balanced, matched. There was a sudden snap and all that had been building like a geyser about to go went backwards with a resounding, explosive backlash onto Ralph who had been the meeting of all of the tributaries in this river of fire.

Tom's magic so forceful in his rage at the magic he could now tell was bound lifting her slightly off the ground as he sought to eradicate the bond. There was a crash, roaring dragons and suddenly Ginny felt empty, a cold shaking unwanted aloneness digging as deep as it could go into her. Her breath was a gasp at the ache and it was Lord Voldemort who turned her head to look out the window at the smash. "I think we know who that was, don't we, Ginevra."

She looked out the window, Ralph was sprawled there, Angus landing next to where his rider had fallen and keening, the keening getting louder from the other dragons he'd been tied to. His wand next to him and she could see that Luna had indeed given him the ring and he had put it on the handle of his wand for safe keeping, put it where they were still tied in their magic. His voice was an iceberg in his anger, rage and jealously burning through the connection she shared. "I told you I'd destroy everything you loved, Ginevra. I don't go back on my promises."

Ginny tried to pull away, the anger rushing up like a bursting well in her, the stress compounded upon stress too much to stay quiet with this adrenaline pouring through her veins. Just as she'd tried to drag him to reason in her soul, made him admit his awful misdeeds in various attempts to understand why, she now poured her own confessions out. "I'd forgiven you for this madness. Forgiven you every time I have to forgive myself for something you've made me do. Forgiven you as Tom, not what you've become, but this?" Her arm waving wildly, one hand pointing to her courtship hairpin, "I can't forgive you for that, for any of this. You're bloody fucking delusional if you think there is ever going to be a we. That was a we."

Then that anger boiled over to rage and she completely blew her top, screaming at him incomprehensibly, battering at him, cursing madly to try and fill the emptiness. For whatever current, whether it be the electric one that had once led to Ralph or the soothing one of a river could not be stemmed, not be controlled as it raged through her.

Suddenly the rage had a route, hardening like rapidly cooled lava onto a new path. It had a focus, it had a reason, it had run down the volcano and hit the sea. She would grieve properly later, would do that in private where she could cry and throw things, because she refused to let him see her cry. She would not share that grief with this crowd, anger yes, but grief no, for it was not theirs, they had their own griefs. She would share what they all needed.

She felt his wand between her fingers, it was almost humming with power, staring at it as pieces started to fall into place. She backed away from him, something very calm coming over her. Their conversations filtering in, his desire for power, his searching, his kidnapping of Ollivander, his intense interest in what sort of wand she carried. His horror that she'd never had her own wand pick her, just Muriel's old one.

She understood what she held.

* * *

Hermione was in the small part of the crowd not watching, instead trying to keep Charlie standing and not sway herself as her and Bill's magic tried to stabilize him, memories pouring through her. That first realization that Ron and Harry were her friends now, watching Lavender and Parvati who she thought hated her jinx every bit of Pansy's makeup they'd stolen from her bag because she'd called her a mudblood, Ginny wiping her face with an icy towel after she'd sobbed, Bill's radiant just for her smile, Fred looping her bag over his own shoulder, her hand nervously encased in Viktor's as he told her how he felt, Crookshanks hopping up into her lap, being too sick to move and George deciding she needed company, her parents exuberant excitement at seeing her at every holiday, the beloved feeling she had laying in Bill's arms.

The rush stopped abruptly, there was a smash from outside and Charlie gave a violent jerk, going limp. She sunk him to the ground, fingers searching for a pulse and tried to figure out what was going on by peering through through people's legs. Lord Voldemort was clutching Ginny, his face pressed firmly into hers in a demanding kiss. Probably to silence the stream of obscenities Ginny had been screaming at him, words and phrases that would make Charlie, Bill and the heartiest of vampires blush. She stood in abject horror, abandoning her quest for Charlie's pulse.

Ginny pulled away, shoving at him and Hermione couldn't hear what she said, but she did see Ginny pull farther back as anger took over his visage and Ginny looked him directly in the eye. Hermione froze, she knew that look on Ginny's face, all Weasleys had it the exact same way. The I've gone supernova in my obstinance levels and am about to throw petrol all over this situation and light an entire pack of matches rather than be in any way reasonable. Had it seen it pass over Ron's face as he abandoned Harry before the Triwizard tournament, as he left them on the horcrux hunt, seen it on Fred and George's faces as they came to a final, breaking decision to leave Hogwarts early, on Bill's face when it popped up as they were trying to clean him post Greyback, lingering on Charlie's after an Order shift, seen the refusal to back down on Percy's face when she ran across him. This was not a good look. This was not a look that needed seeing right now. Ginny needed to take deep breaths and not do whatever she was going to do, but Hermione wasn't close enough to try and get to her in time. So she watched in horror as Ginny hit a new level of sheer outrageous brashness.

Ginny's mouth pursed, pursed harder and then puckered before she spat directly into Lord Voldemort's face.

Her defiance hung for a moment as her spit ran down his cheek, even he seemed shocked into silence that she would dare, that she had that much nerve. "Apologize immediately, Ginevra and perhaps I won't make you watch me kill your entire family for that."

It was in a way a testament to how much he truly cared for her, for how much she truly had scolded him into trying to conquer the fits of rage that as completely furious as he looked Ginny was not in fact dead. Ginny though seemed to be channeling Neville and refusing to back down. She scanned the crowd, looked at the red and Hermione felt Bill nod above her, hand clenching against her stomach, Ginny seemed to be weighing something, a decision, glancing between him and her brothers and stepped farther back, clutching the wand she held.

"I am an extremely impatient man, Ginevra."

"You destroyed my world. Our world. The wizarding world." She looked down at the Wand. "This is yours. Your Elder wand, your deathstick, your power. Well, you don't get to have a world either."

It took a moment for him to realize what she was going to do, but it was enough because as he lunged she snapped it in half.

Crack.

It slammed everyone in the room as the power that lived in the wand left it, Hermione staggered into Bill, glad he was up against the wall as her vision came back to Voldemort's pure screams of rage. He got to Ginny. She looked up at him, "How does it feel?"

Then she spit in his face again.

Crack.

It echoed terribly across the silent crowd and then he violently threw a limp Ginny to the ground. Not like litter tossed over a shoulder, not like the way you swung garbage into the bin, no, in the complete rage of smashing a glass on the floor during an argument. This was the throwing of the entire china cabinet to the ground in an intense burst of fury, the bouncing of Ginny's head indicative of the force he'd used. This was Rome falling, this was ending of the world of how they'd known it, how they could have. It took a moment to register that he'd snapped her neck and Hermione's own legs started to go out, supported only by Bill clutching at her in his own horror as Mrs. Weasley began to caterwaul in grief. They tried to move, hands restraining them and she could see Fred being forcibly held back as well. She couldn't hear anything over the rushing of shock and anger in her ears, the tears burning her eyes.

"Pity, I really did love her." It was still a cold fury, an ugly, self loathing admission. He was bending down and Hermione couldn't tell if he was more upset at the wand or at Ginny. For both had been his world and now both were gone.

There was a very long pause, nobody quite sure what to do and then Harry appeared, pulling off the cloak. "I don't think spellotape will fix that fancy wand you so badly wanted."

"I hope it makes you puke slugs." Ron yelled it equally as angry and somehow while Hermione internally rolled her eyes at him, it was steadying for both her and Harry, whose lip twitched as everyone screamed his name in delight, in hope. Cries of 'Harry!', 'He's alive', echoing around the hall in a deafening manner until Lord Voldemort once again silenced all of them.

Harry glanced around at everyone, "I don't want any help. Nobody intervenes, this is between he and I. Alright?"

"Love, Harry? Did your precious love save her?" He gave a deranged, bitterly choked laugh, "Did it stop her from being another little redhead who _loved_ you enough to die for you even after you'd thrown her away? To step in for you like your cockroach of a mudblood mother?"

"You should try for remorse, Riddle, not insults." Harry had straight shoulders, confidence there, "Not my fault you lost your temper."

"More of Dumbledore's ancient magics nonsense, I presume?" He had moved away from Ginny and began circling slowly, Harry mirroring him.

"Why is it that you fail to see what's right in front of you? You've tried and failed to kill me twice now with your favorite killing curse. Didn't notice all of your hexes were flying wide. Because I died for them, gave them the protection my Mum gave me. Gave the protection Ginny girl was trying to teach you about. Love."

"Don't call my Ginevra that." He threw a hex and Harry dodged it.

Bill whispered to Hermione, "We need to ward them in."

She started trying to get McGonagall's attention and he Kingsley and Remus, mouthing the words and got nods all around. She let Bill do it, nobody else needed to die from a stray hex and Lord Voldemort dodged the stunner thrown at him with a twist, responding a beam of red.

"Use the cloak, Harry!" Hermione screamed it at him, he was a strong duelist, but so was Voldemort and he had far more experience, would throw far darker curses.

"No helping, mudblood, remember? Little Harry wants to do it all on his own now that enough of his friends have died for him." Lord Voldemort taunted her and Harry managed to graze a cut across his shoulder. Well quite frankly, that no helping Harry rule did not in fact apply to Hermione. Nor Ron. That was what they did, they helped, they stood one pace to each side and she would not contemplate leaving his side now, when he needed that most. For this wasn't just between two men, not like Harry or Lord Voldemort thought, perhaps destiny wise it was, but not in Hermione's mind. She was also very thankful that they'd just warded, because he'd just shot the Avada Kevadra directly at her and it stopped short, ricocheting up into the ceiling. His next hex caught the edge of Harry's calf, blood gushing out.

"See, Riddle, you can't hurt them. I'll call Ginny girl whatever I want, because she was my friend, not something I wanted to own. Notice how none of your supporters are trying to help you? See that's the difference, Riddle, love and friendship."

He laughed, still avoiding looking at Ginny's prone form and Harry caught him again, grazing his side. Harry did use the cloak then, circling, his voice echoing and Bill reached down, pulling her fingernails from her mouth in an automatic gesture to make her to stop biting them. She dug them into his arms instead as Harry taunted. "Do you know she was coming to you willingly? That's why she was in the forest. Really thought she could rehabilitate you into something resembling a man not a monster. Why she kept talking to you when she could have kept you turned off in her brain. Why don't you prove her right? Show that despite the fact you killed her, she didn't die in vain."

A hex went flying at Harry in response.

* * *

Ginny looked around curiously as she walked, unsure of where she was, but someone was waiting for her. "Hi Professor Dumbledore." She felt herself blush lightly, "Sorry I broke your wand, sort of a spur of the moment thing."

He twinkled, laughed and patted the bench next to him, "Dear child, I don't need it now." Then gave her a brilliant smile, "I too was planning on letting such a power pass from the earth. In a less bombastic fashion than you chose, but the same intent I think was behind both plans. To end wars like this, to end it's trail of destruction."

"Sure, that was it." She laughed, "Part of it anyway, I've hated losing people, but I also just completely lost my temper with him, face spitting and all." Suddenly it was very funny that she'd spat her way into the beyond and she started uncontrollably laughing at what everyone must have been thinking, at the fact she hadn't been thinking much at all. She hoped the twins made a gum just to spit at your enemies and named it after her or something, like Gingersnap gum. She'd always had a quick temper, but had a sneaking suspicion just as she had been taming Tom she had been trading her own slightly more even keel. She used to be the one holding Fred back, not the one at the front.

He twiddled his thumbs, "I think, dear girl, that is understandable."

"How he'd do it anyway? I had the wand."

"He broke your neck in what I believe was a rage similar to yours."

"Classy of him. At least it didn't hurt." She'd been trying so hard with him, practically a twenty four seven anger management counselor.

"Alas, Harry was the true owner of the wand, so we shall have to wait and see how their duel goes." She got the distinct impression that had not been the original plan, but Ginny herself wasn't a planner. That was Hermione's game, she'd always told her it was better to be brains than brawn and now she'd proved her point.

"Hope I don't get him killed again." She said in sudden worry, she had probably bungled everything up by losing her temper. She tapped her foot, as if it would make waiting go faster. "I don't think Harry needs an all powerful wand to beat him anyway. Harry wouldn't want to win that way, he would sort of feel like he cheated."

"I believe your character assessment is accurate, Ginny. Harry is an exceptionally noble wizard." He agreed easily enough.

"So where is everyone else? This seems rather lonely." Ginny glanced around the empty train station, it was a very odd place to be, but she supposed each time she'd boarded and de boarded the Hogwarts Express she'd been a different Ginny.

"Most passed on through, Percy was very mad at himself for having spent so much time in his words 'being a prat', I've had quite the busy day." She patted his arm, how awful to be the train conductor to the beyond, but Dumbledore seemed to think it rather a treat.

"I was hoping," she faltered, "well to see Ralph. Apologize for getting him killed and it would have been nice I think to go on together. Certainly less overwhelming." Suddenly that hurt very much, that he had not waited the five minutes for her blow her top at seeing him like that, to give her any sort of chance to explain she hadn't meant for him to get the backlash.

Dumbledore smiled and reached over, squeezing her hand. "Him, I have not seen, Ginny." He let it sink in, "And as polite of a young man as he is, I do think he would have stopped for a chat. Don't you?"

"Not if he knew I was right behind him and was ticked enough to think he'd yell. Taught real strictly you don't raise your voice at girls, real men walk away and handle it when they're calmer. It was nice, made me calm down too when we had a spat." She smiled, "Perhaps I wouldn't be in this situation if someone taught me the opposite."

He chortled and just as she was thinking she hoped that didn't mean he was just lying there outside dying all by himself, another voice came in, "Perhaps you'll get the chance to practice it. For my sweet Ginevra, I don't think you're quite dead."

She turned and there was Tom in his school uniform, leaning against a column, apparently having just been listening in, Dumbledore discreetly getting up and walking away as if to admire imaginary paintings to give them a bit of privacy. "I don't think you can be just a bit dead."

"You carried part of me in you, I think even in my rage I just wanted to hurt you, not kill you, but never having snapped a neck before did it by accident." He sounded thoughtful, as if neck snapping was a normal thing he should have practiced like hitting a serve in tennis. "I am sorry about that, but I was extremely enraged."

She still wasn't going to apologize, because she still felt very justified. "I too was clearly very mad when I spit in your face."

"Perhaps our marriage would not have gone particularly smoothly, as passionate as we both are. Were." It was again thoughtful and it was nice to see that even in death he still had no connection to the reality of how one sided their supposed relationship was. Marriage in her mind involved things like saying 'yes' and 'I do', not having a ring shoved on her finger, feeling it cut down to the bone, lips smashing against hers again and again. She'd just been trying to not puke from accidentally being kicked in the head by a centaur. He'd said things, but her ears had been ringing so bad she only really caught Persephone and 'spoils of war'.

She was feeling slightly more charitable, remembering he truly had not known what it was to love just minutes before he lost his temper. "Perhaps not, there'd be no balancing factor, as I think we saw just now."

He seemed a bit forlorn at the thought and sat down, asking almost childishly, "Do you think…well do you think if we'd tried younger, it could have been different? When we first met? I wasn't always what you saw at the end, you know."

"I don't know, maybe. Hard to speculate, really." She tried to be thoughtful of his feelings, of the boy who just as she'd poured love into him had poured his lack of love into her. Poured watching other child after other child get chosen, despite his good looks and proper manners, poured how quickly he simply took over Slytherin and potential friendships fell away into sycophants. How very alone the top of the power chain is. She had ached for him then, wanted to give him a redo, the chance at knowing a family.

Not wanting to dwell on the tragedy that had been his life, she changed gears. "I'm going to rub it in Harry's face that I was a horcrux. Noble liar."

"Well you weren't, not really. I hadn't quite mastered the formula yet and the diary was the first attempt." It pained him to admit it, to admit he had not been magically perfect yet. "I got better at it, the locket only affected the wearer. That was the second attempt."

"What about Nagini? She seemed pretty alive and interactive." As awful as it was, Ginny had grown used to speaking with him about these dark things.

"I had inhabited her and when I left was so fractured already I left a bit of me behind. She was a wonderful companion." He sat down, tentatively reaching for her hand and she let him take it.

Strangely enough, as furious with him as she was, she pitied him and the fury was draining away. "I don't think Harry will try and kill you, or what's left. He's not like that."

"Perhaps it would be a kindness if he does. I do not think I would like to live on, sitting in a cell, knowing that you were off living a life with someone else." He looked extremely glum at the thought.

"I really was it, for you, huh?" He nodded in confirmation, "You were so different than the girls in my time, not prim and restrained. Then you went back to your time." He sounded thoughtful, "Probably good I did not run across your brother Charlie, I've carried a lot of anger at him for taking you back."

"I'd come visit you, you know." It was impulsively said, but she meant it.

"To rub it in my face that you're happy?" He lifted an eyebrow.

She shook her head, hair flying. "No, as quick as I get mad I forgive. Besides, don't you think it'd be overkill to stay mad when it's my fault part of you is dead?" He was quiet so she went on, liking her idea more and more. "I imagine if Ralph doesn't die from falling off that dragon, he'll come with and you two can get to know each other. You can finally be a part of a family!"

He raised a scoffing eyebrow at that, but there was the whispers of a hopeful smile at the edges. "I doubt your beau will thrilled with your plan, my sweet Ginevra."

"Probably not, but he's got the bigger bleeding heart between the two of us. He does just fine with my other exes, tosser kept picking Harry over me as a partner when we played beach games, because he's too competitive." She frowned, it had been their first little spat.

"Shouldn't you get going, my sweet Ginevra?" He looked a bit forlorn, but encouraging.

"Don't think time matters much here." She smiled at him, "I'll stay awhile, if you'd like?"

He nodded gratefully and she settled in to talk to the part of the madman she had carried in her soul for years, the part that wasn't quite mad yet.

* * *

Harry wasn't sure how long they'd been dueling, it felt like hours, he was sweating and frequently using the cloak just to catch his breath. Lord Voldemort's heart didn't seem to be as in destroying him as it had on previous occasions, no killing curse screamed. Maybe he'd just given up on that one, having used it twice on Harry and found it didn't work either time. Harry glanced down at his ankle and cast a quick charm to fix where a bone breaking curse had caught him. It went back with an ugly crack and would be sore, but at least he could move on it.

He pulled off the cloak and snakes came flying at him, he threw the same hex back. Glad he had Hermione so dutifully teach him about her canaries and his phoenix went pouring out of his wand. Swooping and diving just as Fawkes once had against his basilisk. Twist to dodge whatever it was, for Riddle was dueling mainly non verbally, come back around and throw a stunner. A flash of steel out of the corner of his eye showed Neville nervously swinging the sword of Gryffindor and a flash of a memory when Neville had first showed his bravery in trying to stop them from leaving the common room. He threw a body-bind curse and this hit true. Riddle froze and Harry triumphantly yelled _Expelliarmus_ and caught the wand he'd borrowed neatly in his hand. People were waiting, a collective bated breath, waiting for him to end it once and for all. Harry hesitated and hesitated, Dumbledore had not killed Grindelwald and it had been more than just their youthful summer as boys.

Riddle gave him a grimace, "Can't do it, can you? You have to mean it, truly mean it." He looked bitter at his loss, voice mocking. "Would it help if I listed off all of the terrible things I've done?"

Harry shook his head and pointed his wand at him, using a charm to make him turn, make him look at Ginny lying there, for he had carefully avoided that sight since he stood up. "I hear Nurmengard has a vacancy. I think a nice long stay there will do just fine."

"Just kill him, Harry!" He had no idea who screamed it. People were moving closer now, almost mob like in their hunger for his death.

Harry found himself in front of him, sticking to his guns, glad when Hermione, Bill and Ron came to stand with him, wands pulled, followed by McGonagall, Luna and Kingsley. "No. Ginny was right, every life matters. Even his."

"Harry, may I make one last request?" It was politely said, though having spent enough time in his brain to hear the undercurrent of a strong emotion there.

"Err, alright. Go ahead." He really hoped he wasn't going to ask him to kill him.

He was still staring at Ginny. "May I hold her for a moment?" He took a breath, "I'd like to…apologize." It sounded like he had a lemon in his mouth, like he'd never said the word before in his life.

Well, that was super creepy to Harry, but this was also a man who made everyone get tattoos of skulls with snakes on them. He glanced around, "Um, I think that's more of a decision for her family than me."

The Weasleys had a quick conference, they were split. Fred, Ron and Mrs. Weasley adamantly against it while Bill, Charlie and George thought it would be closure for everyone, had seen a bit more of Ginny talking to him through the diary. As head of the family, Bill's side won and he was, while under heavy wands allowed to kneel down next to her, stroke her hair, tuck it behind her ears and something very strange happened. Ink appeared to pool under her, pouring out of the cuts that hadn't been healed. Hermione's voice was a hiss in his ear, "Harry what's he doing to her?"

Harry managed a weak, not quite smile, "He's feeling remorse, Hermione. That's what the diary did when the horcrux died, spit ink everywhere."

Nobody could hear what he whispered to her, but then he stood and was bound up, shoulders straight as he was taken from the room under a guard of every surviving auror. The rest of his side bound up to wait. As soon as he was gone there was a long moment of silence where everyone tried to understand that it was over, then it hit and the room erupted. Wands were shooting off sparks, people were crying and hugging, Hermione was crying and kissing Bill like it was New Years as he swung her about. Harry felt distanced from it all, standing there in his own little void. They had won, but they had also lost so much. Ron came over and put an arm across his shoulders, "Chin up mate, you did it."

Harry looped an arm around Hermione's waist as she too came to stand with them, tears all over her face and he corrected Ron as dawn broke. "We did it."

* * *

A/N: Whelp, if you haven't reviewed yet I'd love to hear your thoughts and I'll answer any questions you have about why and how! There will be several epilogue chapters of the aftermath and life resettling, so it's not done yet!


	32. Twilight

A/N: On we go to see how everyone copes, love the reviews as always, I know it sort of took a weird turn there. :)

* * *

Twilight

May 7th, 1998

Hermione gave a sigh of relief as Bill unzipped the black dress, stepping out of the frock. While wizarding funerals often were full of brightly colored robes, Hermione had found comfort in the muggleness of a simple black dress. She was glad there would be a few days respite between the next round. This first set had been the individual funerals, next would be those whose families had opted for group funerals. Some were along house lines, some along friendships and finally, once more of the Hospital Wing was recovered would be the last funeral. The funeral for the lost Order of the Phoenix members, whose families had all chosen together and would either be put to rest or be marked near Dumbledore's tomb.

Bill gave her a little hug from behind, kissing her cheek. Today had been the funeral for the slain house elves. "I thought your speech was wonderful, love. You really recognized the loyalty and best qualities of the race and each individual. It was hard to hear at times with the sobbing."

She squeezed his hands, hearing the genuine admiration in his tones. "I was trying to tell Harry to take Kreacher out, but he was too busy trying to comfort him to see. But thank you, you helped so much in writing it. Might have to keep you as my ghost writer. Especially when it comes time to advocate for them and not grieve, my goblin rallying husband."

He laughed. "Reminds me, I've got to work on mine. I keep going back and forth on whether it should be the same in English as Gobbledygook or different, the two races have such different sentiments and moral codes."

"Different. You were saying the goblins will want a long section on praise in battle that is usually pretty graphic. I don't think the rest of us need to hear about gushing spider brains." She pecked his cheek back.

He grinned, "Probably true, clever wife. You going to come home with me? Or stay awhile?"

"Stay." She squeezed his hands, "If that's ok? I'd like to check on everyone in the hospital wing."

"Of course, love. Give them my best." He kissed her, "I'll start dinner and reassure the cats you're coming home."

"Crookshanks has been clingy. I think he's a little upset he missed the fighting. Showed me how viciously he can kill all of the seagulls. If your Mum hadn't seen it as well I would think I imagined him using a dead bird as a projectile to knock another one out of the air and go pounce on it. That's the one he gave you!" She passed him her dress and slipped into more casual clothing, decidedly ignoring Bill's frown of disgust, she was happy Crooks found Bill worthy of presents now. "Bill?"

"Hmm?"

She picked at the hem of her shirt, "After the funerals…if everyone is doing okay once they wake up and you think your Mum is okay, I'd like to go tell my parents sooner, rather than later. I don't know how they'll take everything and I'd like time to see or try and fix things, or accept it, before school starts."

He hugged her again, "Of course, love. We'll start coming up with a plan, alright? Can even practice on people if we want." He dropped a wink, "We'll do it however you think it's best and since you were murmuring in your sleep last night that your Dad is going to hate my hair, I'll cut it."

"You don't have to do that." She felt mortified, even though it was likely the truth, Bill did not look like a respectable man for the daughter of two dentists. Bill looked like the type of boy that if they had caught her spending too much time with she would have been shipped off to Gram Granger's to prevent any feelings from advancing.

He winked again, "Maybe a glamour then. We'll see. I clean up alright, I promise." He laughed, "Your dad is going to think I'm such a freak anyway for serial calling him until he said I could marry you."

She smiled and gave him a reassuring pat, "Mum will think it's sweetly romantic and she runs that house. Alright biscuit, my turn off."

His kiss lingered and they clung for an extra moment, a habit that seemed to have not worn off in the last week. She had a feeling he was going to try and continue baby proofing Shell. While she was still wrapping her head around the idea they would have a new relative staying with them in a couple of months, Bill was extremely enthusiastic and throwing himself into early preparation. She was unclear on if it was how he he was dealing with the grief and trauma, but she wasn't going to complain that just as he'd built their bed he was determined to carpenter everything the baby could possibly need. She wasn't entirely sure why there were sketches for a wooden dragon that looked much like the riding horse she'd had as child, but suspected it had to do with coping with the fact Charlie was still comatose. The Hospital Wing was neither overly crowded nor empty, it was those whose families requested they be kept or those whose injuries simply needed time and routine potioning, but not specialized care. St. Mungo's was completely full and Hogwarts was in some ways the overflow. Their family was over in a corner a little pod of beds behind one shared privacy curtain due to the fame of the individuals behind it and curiosity surrounding them. She scanned, double checking there was no lurking beetle. Good, she was still listening. When Rita Skeeter had shown up to sniff around she had endured a very unpleasant and very threatening conversation with the two Mrs. Weasleys. She hoped Ginny wouldn't mind that they used her as a threat.

She peeked in, checking to make sure everyone was decent, surprised to see Cho's curtain open. She gave Harry a tentative smile and was given one in return, "May I come over?"

He nodded, "She's sleeping."

"How's the latch going?" She asked softly, Cho had more color today. For when Harry had been rushing to the forest and sunk Cho to the ground, he had been the first to offer her comfort and upon the battle ending Harry found himself being drawn to her bedside. Cho had the unfortunate distinction of being the only witch or wizard to lose their entire family and Harry, not officially having one had the heart to give.

"She's doing better." Harry scratched an eyebrow with his free hand, voice dropping. "It's been sort of nice, hiding away, you know? I'm so sorry that it's all falling on you with Ron and I both in here."

She shrugged, "It hasn't been as bad as you would think. For the most part everyone is still processing or focused on getting the Ministry back to normal. She still crying all the time when she's awake?"

He shook his head, with a slight smile of relief. "No. Hermione, is it terrible that it's helped me though? I feel like I need to cry, but can't seem to, so she's doing double time."

She patted his hand, "Not at all. Part of the residual latch, I suspect. You did say it didn't really, truly sink in that it was over until you were sitting with her, exhausted, staring at her. Harry, I was thinking-"

"No surprise there." He joked and she smiled.

"I gathered up all of the horcruxes and Remus said they'll probably request them, he and Kingsley were talking and a lot of the people who were Imperiused still feel like they deserve punishment and had the idea for a museum on the war they could build. That we'll likely get asked to do interviews for posterity once they secure a space related to the Order."

"They can have Grimmauld Place, finish restoring it and maybe they learned enough dark magic to be able to get the last of stubborn horrible decorations out of there." Harry's answer was immediate and she beamed at him.

"That's what I was hoping you'd say! But…where will you live? You're welcome with Bill and I."

"Eventually Godric's Hollow is my gut feel, but Mrs. Weasley has offered as well." Hermione also knew the Finnigans, who had the prominent magical house construction business, had already offered to build Harry a house at no cost and no press, turned out Seamus' aunt had been a close friend of Harry's mother. She was quite curious to see Harry's fight to pay with Seamus' mother would go, but rather thought Remus was right and they'd end up donating it somewhere to make everyone happy.

"Sounds like a plan, it's got a nice little wizarding community. How's Ron doing?"

"Good, I think they're releasing him today. They got the last of those jellyfish hex wounds to stop reopening yesterday. He's whining about the scars." Harry rolled his eyes.

"You would too, Harry. If you had brain welt scars on your arms and jellyfish tentacles all over your side and arm." Ron muttered, opening an eye.

"Things with tentacles just love you, Ronniekins. It's your calling in life." Fred told him pushing in a cart full of potions, wearing a muggle nurse hat on his head. At her questioning glance he shrugged, "People kept mistaking us for fully trained healers since we handled the initial cease fire, which upsets the fully trained healers. This is more fun than wearing a badge that says 'Fred Weasley, non-trained Healer'." He handed a tray of potions to Harry, indicating the instructions list, then got excited. "Want me to check the baby, sister? I learned how to do that!"

"Maybe later, Fred. We just had our check up." She smiled at him to soften the blow. "Where's George?"

"At the shop, he, Angelina and Lee are prepping for reopening and making care packages. Figure the sooner we get everyone laughing again, the sooner we get back to normal." Fred winked to show he wasn't offended in the slightest.

"Sooner you get more gold, you mean." Ron muttered and had his pain potion shoved at him to curb his crabbiness.

"We were going to offer you a job too, little brother." Fred sighed dramatically and moved over to Charlie, waving his wand over his prone form. "He still whistling on and off?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah. Your Mum was with him, but I think finally took a break."

Fred looked guilty. "Calm down shots and a sleeping draught. She needed the rest." He looked over and sighed, "Harry, we've asked you to stop moving Ginny to Robinson's bed."

"I'm not doing it! I keep telling you that. I don't know how she keeps ending up there." Harry was defensive and Hermione internally rolled her eyes, this argument and how Ginny kept ending up there had been had multiple times and blamed on everyone under the sun, including her house elves.

"Maybe she's appariting? You know? She's done it on accident before." Ron offered in a much less aggravated tone now that he'd had his pain potion.

"You can't apparate in Hogwarts, Ron. How many times have I said that? The wards won't allow it." Hermione started.

Cho had opened her eyes and gave a weak smile of support for her theory. Harry stroked her hair, resettling it and offering her some water from a straw. Harry had always been sweet, but now was channeling the softness Bill had shown with her in those first few horrific days after Malfoy Manor. Hermione rose to leave them, but Cho gave her another weak smile inviting her to stay. She'd barely spoken to anyone, but Harry and the Davies, her words soft. "Do you think they'll have to completely rewrite Hogwarts, A History after the battle?"

Hermione smiled back encouragingly, "I bet there's a few more chapters going in. I wonder who will do it since Bathilda Bagshot is dead."

"You should." Cho and Harry said at the same time and Hermione blushed.

"I'll write about the secret passageways and all of my very important legacies." Fred offered with a wink to help her recover her composure, before turning back to his next charge, "Alright my sleeping Gin Gin, let's see how you're fairing. Hermione, come play nurse for me."

She went over and pulled the curtain shut around them as Fred lifted her to the bed she was supposed to be in and ran diagnostics, she couldn't keep the hope from her voice. "Any change?"

Fred frowned and ran them again. "Think she's getting closer to waking up like Charlie, more activity in her magic, but Poppy was talking about keeping her sedated until a specialist can come and verify that they got everything reconnected right. Sweet thing thinks Ginny was just being delusional there at the end because of the kicks to the head, didn't have the heart to explain that was just how Ginny was. Check her dressings while I check Robinson?"

It was their routine if Hermione was there, she pulled the curtain shut and shifted aside Ginny's gown to check the dressings over the various cuts and wounds that had been slow to heal. One of the centaurs had explained there had probably been some poisonous plant residue on their hooves, that didn't affect the overgrown nails, but affected Ginny's skin and system. They were regretful about trampling her and Harry very heavily blamed himself for hiding her so well she couldn't be seen, hoping once he'd died she'd wake up and go back to the castle. Hagrid had been working with Professor Sprout and Madam Pomfrey to try and make proper poultices and had very angrily given Hermione a little bit more of a glimpse into what had gone on while Harry and Ginny were in the forest. Lord Voldemort had been thoroughly uncooperative on speaking about anything related to Ginny, how to get the ring off, the diary, his reference to marriage, just kept telling his interrogators that it was private, out of bounds and he had the right to see her.

She hated this part and made a face, wanting to leave it for Madam Pomfrey, but steeled herself, grabbed the sterile lancet and started popping the pustules. Holding her breath to not gag and looking away as they burst. Fred was humming a popular Weird Sisters song and that helped, humming with him as she cleaned and slathered the wound, rubbing more bruise paste into the deep seated bruises from having the weight of a centaur crash down on her. Dropping it when Ginny shifted, an exhale of a mumble as her arm looked for something. Hermione shrieked at the pop of Ginny disappearing. Followed immediately by Fred's startled curse at the crack of apparition.

She flung the curtain open and bashed into Fred, who was shaking, "Mystery solved."

Her words were equally as shaky, "Guess the anti-apparition wards went down during the Battle."

She looked closer, Ginny was fully dressed again, "Fred, step out."

He did and she opened the bandage that should have been freshly popped pustules and groaned, they were there, intact. She redid her work and thought as she redressed the wound and resettled Ginny's gown, tucking the blankets back over the two compulsively, widening the hospital bed so Ginny didn't need to be completely on top of him. She pulled the curtain to see Fred conversing with Madam Pomfrey and went over, "You have to leave her there. I'd just cleaned her wounds and when she popped over they were back to where they were days ago."

"It's improper." Madam Pomfrey started, but Fred and Harry looked thoughtful.

Harry tentatively said it, "Ginny's accidentally apparated incorrectly in time before. Maybe that's why she's not healing? Because she keeps bobbling?"

Fred nodded, "She can't control it right now and Poppy, they're both in comas. What exactly do you think is going to happen? One will roll over and smother the other?"

"How's it improper?" Ron queried, "They're married, aren't they?"

"What?" Everyone asked at once.

Ron gave a rather bewildered look, "Some scroll from the Ministry Marriage Office came and Mum got all teary eyed when she opened it. Said she wished she'd gotten to be there and started blubbering."

They all looked at each other and Hermione went back over, taking Ginny's ring off her necklace from where it had been for safekeeping and slipped it onto her other ring finger. "How's he doing?"

Fred shook his head, "No change, kind of hard to tell since he doesn't seem to have any magic anymore, think it all went into Ginny. Got to check with the dragon tamers, they seem to have a better idea of what's going on than we do, which really isn't saying much."

Hermione nodded, "I'm going to go check on Mrs. Weasley."

She was sleeping, but there was a familiar scroll like the one she and Bill had framed, near the bedside, with tissues near it. She picked it up, gingerly opening it, dreading seeing the tragedy that laid in the hospital bed. Tears rolled down when saw it was something even more tragic.

It was a marriage certificate for Percy Weasley and Audrey Collins, dated for the day his father had been killed. Suddenly, Percy's intense guilt that rivaled the twins was explained, he'd asked for a shift change with his father, had been off eloping in Gretna Green when it happened. Oh Percy. She made a mental note to find out who she was, if she was alive and promptly invite her to Sunday brunch.

Bill's comfort would be unconventional, he would smile at the news as he soothed her tears. "How are you smiling?"

"Think love, it means one good thing came out of that day. Dad would have loved that." He kissed her hair, "Plus, it means Percy got laid. We weren't sure that would ever happen."

She laughed despite herself, "He had a girlfriend at Hogwarts."

"Yeah, a secret one. Perce was always so private about dating, wouldn't ask Charlie or I anything about girls, or guys, or dating. We were thrilled when Ginny let it spill via letter." Bill pecked her, pulling down plates. "Just us tonight?"

She nodded, the house felt empty that way, just the two of them and their pets, no transients, no vague whoosh of Ron's snoring if she went for water. She supposed it wouldn't be that way forever and they might as well appreciate it. She put the plates on the counter and pulled him down for a much needed kiss, sinking into the bond between them, in this love brought together in a war, a love that survived battles and healing. There was smiles in the kisses, warmth in the arms around her, exhales of need issuing from their mouths and completeness in the first night their home was truly just theirs.

Bill would pull it together first at the smoke they'd failed to notice filling the kitchen, shove her out the backdoor and when he reappeared, slightly sooty would wink. "Change of plans, we're doing take out tonight, love. Or going out."

"Italian?" She asked hopefully and her stomach rumbled in agreement and Bill gave her an indulgent smile that showed the only lines on his face now were laugh lines. While it didn't feel right to be not quite happy yet with so many of their loved ones waiting to be buried or in the hospital wing, the tranquility of knowing this was her life with Bill, that they would get to have it was perfect. That there would be more nights of rambling hand in hand down their beach to get takeout, to him smiling as she stole his breadstick and her pretending not to see as he ate two bites for every one of hers at dessert. It finally settled into reality that she would have the life she'd dreamed of, nights of curling up with him on the porch swing and talking, of laughing, of canoodling and that healing was going to be a long process, but not one taken alone.

* * *

May 10th, 1998

Charlie was staring up at a familiar ceiling in complete confusion, he couldn't even remember who'd they'd been playing, but it felt like he'd taken a load of bludgers to the head or taken a bad fall. He turned and found Professor McGonagall staring anxiously at him, "Did we win?"

Her smile was strangely tearful, "Yes, Charlie, we won."

"Did I catch the snitch?" He asked eagerly and she looked confused before firmly patting his hand.

"Let me get Madam Pomfrey. You haven't been playing quidditch, Charlie." He grabbed hers, a bit more filtering back in: battle, dueling, standing in the Great Hall and feeling that matching tattoo burn with emergency need and throwing the anchor cord: one side up in a loop the other as far down into himself and the ground he could go.

"Wait. I remember, just sort of slow going." He found his right arm worked and rubbed at his face, "Bloody hell, what happened at the end there?"

She patted again and waved a silencing charm around them and explained at his questioning glance, "It's the middle of the night."

"So, what are you doing sitting by my sickbed?"

"I couldn't sleep, Charles, and was handling night rounds and you were very fidgety." She paused and sighed, "We were hoping you could tell us what happened. What's the last thing you remember?"

He thought, he sat up and drank water, trying to push her anxious concern away and remember. "My brain blew up." He shook his head, "No, Ralph's brain blew the gasket." He rubbed his face and tried again, "Anchored Ralph like any other time, but he…well fuck, not real sure, think he yanked the channeling side of my Seer gift. Somebody else, a few people tried to anchor me-" He looked at her in confusion and she nodded in confirmation.

"I tried to help hold you." She said softly, "A lot of things got pulled and were pushed through you."

Charlie nodded, recalling images of her kneeling by her husband's grave, of tearing up time and time again as her seventh years left her nest and shoved it away. "Think he was the dam for Ginny, where everything was pooling. It started to blow and he yanked away. Still felt like I was drowning there in backlash, but it cut as the tidal wave hit him."

He'd felt him flipping away, drowning and fracturing under the pressure and Charlie's stomach clenched, nobody could have survived that. "How's Ginny?"

Minerva frowned and squeezed his hand, gesturing at the partially closed curtain right by him. "They're in there. We keep trying to transfer him to St. Mungo's, but the dragons get very upset. McLaggen said the dragons won't unlink from him. Ginny too has not woken, but is starting to mumble."

He laid there in shock. There was something in that, Charlie would figure it out when his brain felt less fuzzy. "How long have I been out?"

"A week, but we thought you might wake soon, you started humming, then whistling in your sleep."

"Bill and Perce used to hate that." Charlie said with a sudden sharp ache of remembering now he would never again annoy Percy with his constant whistling. There was no more getting to wake Percy up by tossing a quaffle at him a minute before the alarm clock in their room went off, as he had done for so many years and holiday visits home, delighting in his blurry, surprised little yelp and grumbles that he was awake.

She squeezed his hand, "It was always the same song. I found it familiar, but can't quite place it." She hummed it for him.

"Oh, that? Just a song from the reserve, 'Tale of the Dragon King'. Us dragon tamers have our own lore, lots of old stories since most of the learning is oral tradition, everything being burnt down a few times and all." She gave him a confused look so he tried the lyrics he could manage without sounding horrifically off tune,

"Dragon king, dragon king just gave out a wedding ring,

When battle came a calling, he kept the sky from falling.

Hard he fought, fast he flew and before he knew,

His queen to be, into other arms she did flee."

He cut himself off before the next verse, sitting up panicking and looked over at the bed next to him. "Bloody hell, that's not an old ballad at all, that's a prophecy we've just been passing down."

Minerva grabbed one of the hands he'd started trying to smother his face with, her voice soft and trying to soothe, to hold it together for him. "The Arthurian style of prophecy, isn't it? The old ballad ones like you learned at Seer school?"

"Damnit, Ralph you noble anchor cord cutting bastard." Anger was easiest, yelling at the prone person in the bed next to him, as he ran verse after verse through his head.

"Charlie?" Minerva was shoving him back down, "Charlie, calm down and tell me what's happening."

"You said the dragons are refusing to unsync from him?" She nodded still very confused and he wanted to curse and curse. "I can't believe we didn't see it before, covers the Battle of the Channel, you're even mentioned. Godric, he was just singing it to Helena and the eggs."

"Charlie, settle down and explain." She rummaged, "Have a calming draught."

"Dragon queen, dragon queen oh how she will keen and keen,

when her dragon king's sleep is deep, kept tightly in the dragon's keep."

He felt hot angry tears in his eyes and rolled away from the soothing hands, "Have someone else sing the rest."

He muttered the next words, "Have you talked to his family yet?"

"No, we don't know where they are."

Charlie turned completely into his pillow, "I do. I'll handle it."

"Charlie?" Her hand pressed into his back, imploring him to let her help. "Does that mean he'll just be like that forever?"

"No." He choked out the last line of the song for her, skipping all the rest. He swallowed the hard angry lump of frustration in his throat. "When he wakes he's man no more, for the king of dragons can only roar."

* * *

June 1st, 1998

Bill was steadying both of them, Charlie weakly batting at Hermione's hair to try and get it out of his face, "Don't want to be sick on you."

"Thanks." Hermione managed to mutter as Bill rubbed her back, feeling her still taking shaky breaths into his chest. Portkeys had never bothered him much, even the fairly long jumps like they'd been using to get to Australia. Unfortunately, both Hermione and Charlie got motion sickness making traveling by portkey rather uncomfortable.

"We'll take shorter portkeys back if we need to, love." He told her and got an 'unnnghh' in agreement. Slowly they pulled it together, Charlie releasing his grip first.

He looked pale, "Are you sure you don't want us to go with you, Charlie?"

He shook his head. "Yeah. I've got what I'll tell his parents down."

"What is that, exactly?" Hermione asked, as Charlie had changed it repeatedly, especially after he looked up muggle words for things.

"That Ginny's with him and that while we won, he ended up in a magical coma, because of dragons and shit." Charlie didn't sound as if he had it completely down pat, but it was better than earlier versions that mainly involved blaming dragons, Ginny, Lord Voldemort or some combination. "There's a ballad, I'll just sing it to them."

"Charlie!" Hermione scolded, "That's no way to tell someone's parents."

Charlie shifted, "His brother was in a coma, they'll get it. What do you want me to say, Hermione?"

"Charlie, they deserve to know the truth." She glared at him and he shook his head in response.

"I suppose you're going to be completely honest and share every last detail with your parents? Explain to them that you've been omitting major facts about what was going on in our world for years? Tell them that you were tortured?" She looked away, "I didn't think so."

"Charlie! That's enough." Bill cut in and shoved him in the direction he needed to be going and softened, "Good luck. We'll see you tonight at the hotel?"

Charlie gave a vague hand gesture, "We'll see how it goes, I'll probably end up staying the night."

Hermione's voice was soft, "Good luck."

He gave her an apologetic smile and flung up the peace sign over his shoulder as he walked away. Hermione glanced up at Bill in confusion, "He's not just apparating?"

Bill shook his head, twining their fingers as he led her out of the alley way, "He wanted to grab flowers and settle himself, he considers them family so it'll be rough going. We should settle into the hotel, love. Get some rest before this evening."

"I still think bringing Ginny would have been a good idea." She sighed as they fell into step.

He squeezed her hand, "It would have made it worse, love. Charlie can at least say Ginny's with him, just leave out the part of how Ginny is well…you know."

"Maybe it would be a wake up call for her? Maybe she'd talk more." Hermione tried, for once Ginny had woken and realized what had happened, what she had done, she seemed to drain away into nothing more than a sleepwalker. It was as if all of the fire that she was had burned out and left only ash.

Bill said nothing in response, Hermione and Ginny were far closer than she and Bill were. She gave a little noise indicating she was waiting and he sighed, "She only got released from the hospital wing to testify tomorrow, love, Mum isn't letting her out of sight. So we're set to meet your parents at 7?"

She nodded, and he could feel her nerves bubble up again, the entirety of what they were doing settling scarily into her every time she looked at his sharp haircut. He'd reassured her he could use magic to grow it out and winked at her as he made his mother's week by letting her tidy it into a gentleman's cut. The hair just brushing his shoulders, still long enough to tie back respectably. While she would have probably gone shorter, Mrs. Weasley became overcome at his resemblance to a younger version of his father she'd quietly set her wand down to go find a photograph. It was strange to see himself as a child, unscarred, flanked by Charlie and Percy as they peered at the tiny twin bundles their shaggy haired father was enthusiastically introducing them to. His Mum had told the horrendously embarrassing story to Hermione of how he'd asked if she'd gotten one of them free from a coupon.

"Earring in or out, love?" He queried as she fussed over her appearance in the muggle hotel room, turning side to side to make sure she wasn't showing. His little wife wanted to take things slow, to tell them about the baby later on depending on how things went.

"Out." She pursed her lips, "No, in." She turned from her self inspection, "I don't want to hide who you are, Bill." A settling breath, "Besides, it's a conversation piece. My parents love teeth, all kinds. Dad even used to work with the local vet for any major mouth issues."

Noted. He tried for a joke as he ironed his shirt, "Maybe he should check Remus out during a full?"

Hermione shot him a glare, then softened. "I'm so glad he's agreed to do the moon with us and Charlie. I hope it helps."

"It does." Bill informed her gently, wrapping his arms softly around her waist to stop her fussing at her dress. "We're not who he wants or what he wants. We can't be the Marauders or Tonks, but we're the closest thing to a pack he'll ever have or want to have."

She nodded, not necessarily a happy nod, but one of factual understanding. She smoothed her skirt again, giving him a slightly guilty glance, "This morning they asked about the poisoning and Snape's role in the war and I-"

"You didn't." Bill begged her, peeling off the little wad of toilet paper he'd plopped on his shaving cut.

"I did." She confirmed, "Wait! Not us." He let out a sigh of relief, "He's being released unto Remus until he stands trial. He and Remus were in school together and Remus will need the company."

"Hermione!" It was tightly said, "Remus just lost his wife, the last thing he needs is being Severus' warden. They both tend towards morose, no need to compound it."

"I told you about it and you agreed." She said stubbornly.

"Is that what you were talking about? Godric, from now on, love, you can't just tell me things when I'm half asleep. I didn't agree with you, I just made a noise to indicate that you should be in the bed, not pacing the room."

She gave him a stubborn look in the mirror, touching her pearl earrings one last time before turning to face him. "It sounded like you agreed, but there's little Teddy to lighten the mood. They'll balance each other out and Snape can play nanny until he's declared innocent."

Bill had a vague feeling he should argue with her logic, foist Severus onto someone else, perhaps a Hogwarts teacher, but Remus had been that. Bill wasn't going to pretend he knew any of the complexities of the turncloak potions master, but he did know his wife had excellent judgement. "We'll see, love. Just make sure you're constantly inviting Remus over for dinner to give him a break."

"They're coming on Tuesday." She happily informed him and he shook his head, she was always one step ahead. "You can make your lasagna! They'll also be at brunch next Sunday at our place, everyone spent so long cooped up in Muriel's so a change of scenery was declared necessary."

"We'll make lasagna, it's just layering things, love. And how many people are we hosting?" He loved that smile, the little tentative bursting one she gave when she was going to get to learn something new. He was bound and determined that she would eventually find herself comfortable in a magical kitchen, he very much enjoyed cooking, but didn't want his pretty little thing to continue to be a danger to herself and others when let loose.

"Well nobody has responded, guessing all of your family, plus ones, and I invited the Order, so 15 or 20?" He made a face at her answer and she smiled. He peered at her hands, checking to make sure she hadn't bitten off her polish in her nervousness. No, she was fine, still ten perfectly painted nails, he had a brief thought of wondering who'd done them, George probably.

"You all have the same expression when figuring out how much to cook on people counts." She picked up her jacket and a photo album, "You've got the pensive, right?"

He nodded and they left the hotel, her nervously picking at her dress, telling him he should have gotten his teeth cleaned, "Love, don't you think it would be incredibly weird if I'd gone to their office and then showed up at 7 pm at their house? I'd look like a stalker."

Hermione made a sound that was both agreement and disagreement, he stopped them for a moment, pulling her into a hug. Dropping his head onto hers and squeezing her, "It'll be fine, love." She made a little noise and he squeezed tighter, "No matter what happens, Hermione, I'll be right there. You are loved an incredible amount, you are part of a family and even if they flip you'll still crawl into bed next to me each night."

"What if-" She started and he pulled away with one last squeeze.

"They created the indomitable Hermione Granger, they can handle it." He linked their fingers, squeezing again, his other half had been vacillating between excitement and nervousness, hope and every possible way it could go wrong. Personally, he was ready to have it done, to not have to calm the anxious tides and held a very favorable outlook on how this dinner would go. They'd planned so carefully, called and said they were relatives from England who'd been tracing down ancestry and would be in the area if the Wilkins were interested in grabbing dinner and learning about what they'd found. The Wilkins, who were curious folk and didn't seem to have any relatives or ancestral knowledge, were happy to oblige, inviting them to their home over a restaurant. Hermione had cried at that, had tucked her face into his shoulder, murmuring that her parents had always been a candle in the window family. He had peppered her hair with kisses, as strong as his Hermione was, she was one of the most welcoming people he'd ever stumbled across and he truly believed she'd gotten that from somewhere. It didn't matter your species, Hermione was there, eager to help, ready to advocate, give you anything she had and he'd gotten to be the extremely lucky bastard she'd handed her heart over to.

"Love you." He murmured it, before pulling away. They needed to do this and he was determined to be her rock. She smiled at him, that particular smile that lit her eyes and shifted her cheeks as if she couldn't contain the frisson of emotion it held. Bill would do anything for that smile.

Hermione had gotten her photo albums, they'd borrowed a pensive, were planning on trying to gently prepare them ahead of time, to understand they were missing memories, had read the experiences of those who had been hidden during Grindelwald's reign. They'd practiced and practiced, made Fred forget about George and given him back, which Bill was fairly certain had traumatized both twins, but it had been their own idea. They'd worked with the Australian Ministry, had beds waiting and specialists from the Obliviation department a message away. Now they just had to go do it.

"Do you want to drive?" He asked lightly.

"Please, you do. I'll read the directions." Hermione was calmer, once they were on the road she started to fidget again. "What if they realize I look like them?"

"You're related. We're not hiding that, love." He said easily. "Bet you even picked out the name Wilkins because it was a W, like Weasley."

"Are you that self centered, Bill?" She was peering at the map, but looked up to smile at him, to soften her nervous snap.

"Yup." He informed her chirpily, turning when told, "See, if you hadn't been thinking of me you would have wanted to change it as little as possible. Gibson, Greeves, Gaunt…would have left their first names intact!"

He got an exasperated laugh as he pulled into a spot in the condominium complex, goal accomplished. Now they just had to do the next part, which despite what he was saying to Hermione, scared the dickens out of him. He wanted his inlaws to happily embrace their daughter, to understand and quite frankly to like him, to think in any way he was deserving of the wife whose car door he was opening.

* * *

"Thank you for taking the time to see me, Molly." Minerva McGonagall said lightly as she sat, taking the offered teacup to set about making it to her preference.

"Not a trouble at all. Nice break, isn't it?" Molly paused, "Not to say I'm not happy helping, but a few moments off your feet make quite a difference."

The smile she got was commiserating, "Thank you again for leading the common room restorations." A small sip, "And ordering the meals."

"Always wanted a house elf." She laughed lightly, "Hermione tried, but they get so nervous and excited around her they can't listen, just try to give her everything under the sun, which just makes her flustered at the attention. I've got quite the competition for baby watching, a house elf from the Maldives has even thrown her hat in the ring since her little ones will be off to school."

"She'll be an excellent mother." Minerva stated, setting down her teacup. "With yours out of the nest I imagine it'll be quite the change of pace to fill your days."

Yes, that was something she'd been thinking about. Arthur was gone, they had no savings, she hadn't even checked if the Burrow had been destroyed. She knew Muriel had intended on everything going to her family, but sitting around a mansion with nobody to cook for, nobody to take care of sounded terribly dull. She hadn't broached the topic yet with Bill or Charlie, because they would protest, but she very much intended on getting a job to occupy her time, whether they liked it or not. "Oh yes, I'm hoping to get a position in household management. I'm used to running a large family and-"

"I hope you'll consider Hogwarts." Minerva cut her off with a tight smile. She shut her mouth and Minerva's smile widened, "I'll be taking on the role of Headmistress, Severus declined citing his trial and stated he would prefer to simply return to the role of Potions Master. I am making several changes, Molly, one of which I hope you'll be willing to spearhead. Traditionally, Head of Houses have handled what we traditionally call boarding issues. I believe with what has passed we'll have more upset children than normal and the explanations to the first years will be complicated, I'd like to create a role at Hogwarts for a den mother of sorts. Someone the children can go to, can ask questions of, can be coddled by without worrying that their teacher will judge them."

She was astounded, "But why..why me?"

"Molly, you've never closed your heart to a child. I have a rather long list of references that I can consult on the matter." It was stated matter of factly.

Her eyes flooded with tears, she managed a small, "Of course I will, Minerva."

"Excellent. We'll start with delivering the letters and explanations to the incoming muggleborns. Do you think that Charles would be willing to take on a Professorship of Care of Magical Creatures?" She pursed her lips, "To be quite frank with Hagrid leaving, Charlie has probably spent the next largest amount of time in the Forbidden Forest, and seems to have quite the following there."

She wiped away her tears, yes, her creature loving Charlie who had constantly showed up with little friends of his own or gifts for her as a child would certainly be a perfect fit. "I think he would." She wiped away more tears, "He's excellent with creatures and their languages, picks them up in a snap. Bill says he's fluent in camel, even though we were there just a few days. He's been helping Hagrid with some new breeds as well, so that will work out nicely."

It went unsaid that Charlie would stay until Ralph showed any change, could handle the dragons that had decided they liked living at Hogwarts, would be a shoulder to lean on if Ginny continued on like she was. "Did Remus accept the post?"

"Yes, he'll take over Defense Against the Dark Arts and the role of Deputy Headmaster, but is still debating on whether he wants to take over Head of House duties with Teddy being so young. He'll have enough late nights as it is. I'm loathe to put another thing on Charlie's plate, but most of those who tend towards teaching as a profession come from Ravenclaw."

Molly pursed her lips, "We'll have to watch him, Minerva. He hasn't so much as murmured Tonks name and that child deserves to know about his mother. He's terribly depressed."

"Give it time, Molly. Worse comes to worst Teddy will learn about Nymphadora from everyone else." She pursed her lips in thought, "If you'd like, you can start a pensive collection of memories of her for Teddy to see when he's older."

"Absolutely." Molly agreed, happy to be able to help, eager for her new role and deciding she would find her footing in this new world. "You'll be coming to brunch on Sunday, won't you?"

"Of course." Minerva stood and gave a small sigh, it was back to the trenches of reconstruction. "Do you need me to bring anything?"

Molly shook her head, "Just yourself. You'll have to cast a vote, my sons have whipped themselves into a frenzy and are having a cooking contest. Somehow it came up that men can't cook at Percy and Oliver's wake and the menfolk got very offended. It's a little confusing, but Bill's doing crabs, Charlie's planning on using dragon fire to cook a ham, which I'd avoid."

"Why's that?"

"Charlie didn't take to kitchen spells, was saying he's seen it done loads of times, but that they normally uses a baby dragon. Since one isn't handy, said he'll just wing it. He normally ate at the canteen, not sure the last time Charlie's attempted cooking anything more complicated than pasta." She frowned, she didn't want Minerva to think she'd neglected to teach her child a life skill.

"Noted."

She started to ramble, "The twins were saying something about their famous meatballs and I think Ron and Harry are going to attempt a turkey. Kingsley has also entered himself as a contestant, and Remus is doing Sirius 'fowl play' dish, but Hermione is coordinating all of it so I'm keeping my hands to myself until she asks for help." She sighed, "It's incredibly hard not to meddle, but she's trying to rebuild the relationship with her own Mum at the moment."

Minerva gave a commiserating nod, "If we go to war again I think I'll have to make it policy to make sure Hogwarts informs the parents of students, it appears none of our muggleborns told their parents anything, afraid they'd be kept home and put back in muggle school. Part of why you'll be perfect for the role is how you helped handle the Thomas family when Dean went on the run."

Molly nodded, "Bill appears to be constantly putting his foot in his mouth by mentioning things that Hermione neglected to tell her parents."

"Don't want me to bring a dessert?"

"Luna and Xenophilous offered, but that can get dicey. Don't trouble yourself, Ginny and I can tuck away in the kitchen and whip up some tarts, it'll do her good to have some normalcy between trials."

She got a serious nod in return, "Miss Lovegood approached me about adding a piece for the Quibbler and showed me the current set up. Ginny's piece is exceptionally well written. While I recall the concern when we realized she'd been taken into the Chamber of Secrets, reading _Pomegranate Seeds_ from her side is very haunting."

Molly nodded, "I'm not sure it'll come out in the Quibbler at the end of the day, Xenophilous found it moving as well and would prefer to publish it as a book rather than a series of essays. Ginny's back and forth on wanting it published at all and You-Know-Who is hassling her on including his version of being stuck in a diary." She gave a deep sigh, "When she's a bit more settled I'll let her read what Ralph was writing while she slept and he couldn't. We found a muggle notebook at the flat with the title of Persephone, he was documenting the letter charming, everything really, and writing about the situation from his point of view. Well perhaps I won't, don't mention that to her, please."

"I wasn't aware she was in contact with You-Know-Who and personally I think if he hadn't shared it with her, he probably had his reasons."

Molly gave a miserable nod, her daughter after that awful emotional burst upon waking had turned into a mannequin. She answered when spoken to, did what she was told and spent the majority of her time in a docile blankness. She wrote furiously in hidden bursts when she thought everyone was asleep, fidgeted and fretted over Ralph when she thought there were no eyes to spy her. The one time Molly had tried to comfort her youngest had been painful, she'd been greeted with startled deer eyes and the abrupt cut off of emotion, had watched her baby meticulously go back to brushing his teeth. Had been asked in a very tight voice if she minded giving his hair a trim and sat with her for a long time, just holding her littlest. Having a daughter had been a far different experience than sons, one Molly very much treasured. The different problems, the tiny schemes they plotted when her brothers excluded her, the only child who'd written her daily, even if was just a sentence. "He's using Ralph's condition against her. The healers were very clear that she needed a low stress environment as she heals, that it would make the headaches and blank periods go away faster."

"She still can't remember what happened?"

Molly sighed sadly, "No. She's quite upset, Luna told her they'd gotten engaged, but the last thing she can recall is a few days before, being infuriated with Tom over sinking so low he'd had Death Eaters shuffle their puzzle pieces from box to box and being completely confounded on realizing Ralph was unclear on what a waffle is." Minerva gave her a questioning glance and she shrugged, it had been the longest conversation about breakfast food knowledge Molly had ever been a part of. She supposed every couple had their growing experiences and had spent most of her time swatting at her sons who kept compounding the situation by asking Ralph if he knew what food made up words were as her breakfast-for-all-meals daughter tried to suss out what other breakfast staples he was ignorant of. "Ginny asked him if he had a waffle iron and he just brought her a regular iron, saying he didn't think it was the brand she requested, but it worked. He ended up on the defensive, told Ginny to stop interrogating him and that they could try all of the things. She's quite determined that when he wakes up he's going to eat his first waffle, it's still up in the air if it will be Belgian or blueberry."

It had reminded her terribly of how Arthur's more easy going nature had both prevented escalation, provided a compromise and promptly settled her back into a normal temper without the yelling she'd experienced with the boyfriend before him. They had been poor, but happy and if she often didn't notice to scold her children until Arthur was coming for breakfast or getting home from work to play his part it kept them both from having to remember who was being punished for what. It was at a contrast, she thought, to what Minerva wanted in a den mother, her house had never been perfectly tidy, her children had all clearly broke rules from the amount of time Minerva had sat frowning in their living room explaining what one, or multiple ones had done.

"If she's going to waffle on the subject, she should consider plain as well." Minerva shook her head as it slipped out and Molly smiled at it. She had clearly been spending too much time with Remus and Kingsley.

"Minerva, might I mention that my children were not particularly well behaved at Hogwarts? Doesn't that concern you? That maybe I don't have the right touch?" It was nervously asked as just what they'd gotten in trouble for in a rush of memories.

"While your children have probably collectively broken every rule Hogwarts has, I believe that is fine. They're upstanding individuals who broke them likely in the heat of the moment, for the most part. The war couldn't have been won without your family's committed contribution and spearheading of the Order of the Phoenix." She paused, glancing at her hands to allow Molly a moment to compose herself, "I'm hearing rumors that the expanded education program on replacing the various Blood Studies courses with the mandatory Humanities course Arthur proposed years ago will be passed."

She took a deep swallow, what a moving legacy that would be for him, the explanatory education he felt would reduce muggleborn, squib and pureblood tensions based on misunderstandings from sheer lack of knowledge. "That would be wonderful. He spent ages on the bill and did a large amount of research to back up the idea. Of course, at the time everyone thought it was ludicrous and You-Know-Who was just slipping into power."

She got a tightly reminiscent smile, "My father had an entire sermon on how if you just got it over with reconciliation with your sins, you could learn from it. Thoroughly thought looking back and seeing what a close-minded fool you'd been just got harder the longer you let it linger."

Molly smiled, "I read his treatise on the similarities between religions, how it ties to our understanding of soul magic and the implications there. Thoroughly complex, but well worth the time to pick it apart."

She got a smile in response, "Can you start Monday?"

Molly frowned, " Can it be a day or two later? I'm of a mind to pay Lord Voldemort a visit and tell him to either give Ginny the cure, if he damn well has it, or back off. There will be no visitation schedule, there will be no manipulation of my daughter or her time, she will not be used in any way, shape, or form in his rehabilitation efforts."

"I'll go with you." Minerva offered. "I was considering calling a break in restoration efforts until the stone and other materials come in to give everyone a rest." Her smile was cat like, "I'm told I can come off as formidable."

"Thank you, your help is always welcome." She had a feeling she was very much going to enjoy working for Minerva McGonagall.

* * *

"Good morning, William." It wasn't quite tentative, but it wasn't fully welcoming yet either.

"Good morning, Dr. Granger. How are you feeling?" They had chosen to stay the night, to be there in case of any side effects from the first rush of memory reversal. Hermione's mother had opted to take it in stages, to savor it she said, but her father had just wanted it done.

"More dreams last night than I think I've had in the last five years put together, but all in all, no more aches than a normal Saturday." He glanced in confusion at the tea set up in the living room and Bill smiled, Dr. Granger seemed good natured, more relaxed than his wife who Hermione seemed to catch her high strung moments from.

"I'm glad. Was it easier finding about magic this time around?" Bill sipped his own tea, "We're banished from the kitchen. Hermione wanted to do breakfast and since I don't have any clue how to cook muggle I was more of a hindrance than a help."

He'd just wanted to watch her, she kept telling the stove to do things with knobs and buttons and it was quite fascinating, his Hermione who almost kept burning down their house did not seem to have the same problems in a muggle kitchen. He'd privately decided for her birthday she was getting the muggle stove she wanted, they'd redo the kitchen at Shell to make it easy for both of their families since talks of visits and stays were already in the works. Her father grinned, "No complaints on my side, William." He paused, "I know you go by something shorter, but it got lost in all of the information. Will?"

"Bill." He gave another smile, remembering, "I was called Will as a tot until my brother Charlie learned to talk and couldn't do his Ws, so he called me Bill and vigorously corrected everyone until Bill it was."

"I didn't know that." Hermione's voice floated through the opening to the kitchen.

"He also tried to rename the twins, didn't like that their names didn't match at all. Thought they should both be named after cheese. George still answers if you yell gouda." He called over to her before turning back to Dr. Granger, "Charlie is the next youngest after myself."

Dr. Granger motioned to the outdoors and the patio and Bill followed, it was a nice morning even in the supposed winter temperatures. "He sounds like a bit of a free spirit. We always wanted more, but we barely had Hermione as it was. Tried for years and years."

Bill nodded, not wanting to say anything, slightly afraid to blurt out that they were expecting. "It's quite a shock to realize you have a daughter, an even bigger one to realize she got married without telling you." He paused, "That was you on the phone, wasn't it?"

"Guilty as charged." He gave a nervous laugh, in hindsight it did seem completely ridiculous, but Hermione would have wanted her dad's blessing. "I'm sorry, I-"

His mouth was waved shut, "Is there a reason it was so fast?"

Well that was was a very interesting and quite a complicated topic, but it boiled down well enough. "I knew it was her. Something I'm happily reminded of on a daily basis." He paused, "My Mum offered up her memories of our handfasting, so you two can experience it. We'll do a proper wedding of course, imagine Hermione and her Mum will go nuts with the big white dress."

He glanced out at the yard, seeming incredibly moved at the thought, "I've had to give Hermione up once before, to a world I didn't understand and couldn't truly be a part of." He took a shaky breath, "You'd think her getting married wouldn't be so hard to face. That it should be the same as taking my chipmunk cheeked little girl to the platform and tucking her away for another school year. I'll be honest, William, never thought she'd marry young."

Bill shifted, he didn't want to mention the reasons he'd slipped a ring on her finger. There was no need to talk of torture or prejudice, that was Hermione's to share, no need to mention that the wizarding world had chosen lines drawn in sand and her pivotal role in ending a war. He could feel Dr. Granger looking at his scars, wondering, they had been told they were hidden away due to the dangers given Hermione's birth and increasing tensions. "War has a way of crystallizing things, focusing them. I'm very lucky that for me it included Hermione." He took a breath, "During one of the battles an infamous werewolf went for Hermione, I blocked the path in time."

He wasn't sure if that said, please like me, I love your daughter a lot, got mauled by a werewolf for her, will do anything to make sure she has a happy life. Her father looked contemplative so he'd consider that a good sign. "I'm sure the two of you will need to figure out plans if you want to stay here or return to England, but know our home is always open. Hermione had extra keys made in her excitement and we redid the wards to allow anyone with shared blood access."

"Always prepared, our Hermione." He gave a soft smile, "We'll see, we've been taken with the warmer weather. Yet my wife loves to ski, hasn't taken to watersports-"

"Breakfast!" It was a yell and her father smiled in a familiar fashion, as if this was an oft heard call. They went in and he could feel Hermione's nervousness as he took his first bite of french toast, he gave her a happy smile. He wasn't sure exactly what she'd done to make it both crispy and custardy, but she was certainly getting a muggle stove now. He wasn't sure how many plates he ate, but he would later think he should have eaten more as they reintroduced them to the magical word. Took them down into the pensive, toured a magical village nearby, and did spells by request on repeat. It wasn't perfect, but her parents had very much clung to the idea that their daughter was raised to make the hard choices, not the easy ones. It was going to be alright and Bill reassured Hermione that at a certain point your relationship with your parents shifts when you become an adult and that was normal progress.

* * *

"Good luck, Harry! Dinner will be great and I'm sure the Dursleys will be happy to see you." Hermione's smile wasn't quite reassuring, but she was trying.

Ron gave her a look that indicated he thought she was mental, "They'll be happy to get back to their lives, that's what they'll be. Don't forget to try and figure out exactly how much Dudley weighs, got some sickles-"

"Ronald!" Hermione cut him off. "That's horrible. Who are you making bets like that with?"

"He's just pulling your chain, Hermione. Relax." He hugged her, "Alright, I'm off."

It was strange to be going to see the Dursleys and not at Privet Drive, but he felt oddly obligated to be the one to bring them out of relocation. To explain that it was over, that yes they had won and while he had managed to get himself ruddy killed, as Uncle Vernon had griped about, he hadn't needed to stay dead. He twisted and made a fidgety attempt to make his hair not be, well, it's upmost level of untidiness. Aunt Petunia answered the door wearing her fanciest hostess apron and Harry smothered a smile, it was the one she used when Uncle Vernon had business colleagues over and he hadn't been expecting it for himself. "Hello, Aunt Petunia."

He was ushered in and she studied him, placing a hand against his forehead, "You look peaky, you're not terribly ill are you? We took you off the insurance when-"

"I'm perfectly healthy. Hey Dudley, how's it going?" He spied his cousin awkwardly loitering in the living room. Still large, but it looked like he'd kept up his workout routine and been forced to continue the hated dieting.

"Dudders, give him the tour while I check the roast." Aunt Petunia was off into the kitchen as if Harry had the plague or a strange smell, but that was normal, her perfectionist streak was strong and intact. Harry followed Dudley through the house, giving general compliments to the bland rooms that Dudley unnecessarily told him their purpose.

"And this is your room. Sheets are fresh." Harry started at that.

"But I moved out." He went into it, there was a twin bed, a side table and one of his Gryffindor ties pinned to the wall. He felt moved, it was the most affection he'd probably ever been shown by the Dursleys. It was thoughtful they'd kept a room for him at all, he had been of the understanding they were never going to live together again.

Dudley appeared uncomfortable. "Some of your stuff got mixed in with mine."

"Sorry about that." Harry assured him, "Probably my fault, sort of created a mess at move out."

"Yeah." Dudley lumbered out and he followed down the stairs. "Dad's out of town at the moment, taking another interview in Surrey. Is everything they said in the paper true?"

"The paper?"

"Mum finally just got a subscription to the Daily Prophet, turns out all daily checking in on Mrs. Figg was so she could read it without Dad knowing. Dad was furious, but she won the fight." Dudley let the last part slip and Harry was astounded.

"I thought she detested magic, but yeah, the war is over. All of those years with making me do my homework in secret, not bothering to tell me anything about magic." It suddenly cast a retrospective light on his being watched by the elderly neighbor, how it was always Aunt Petunia who arranged the visit and Uncle Vernon who interrogated him about it to make sure it had been unpleasant. The times Uncle Vernon would grumble if Mrs. Figg wasn't available and say they should just get a babysitter and Aunt Petunia's protests at paying someone, she didn't trust teenagers, they could take him with them or reschedule. It was a strange thought to think she was trying to give him a little glimpse into the magical world, heeding Dumbledore's protection orders and even stranger to think she had been trying to include him in their family outings without causing a rift with her husband.

Dudley gave him a shrug, "Who knows? Guess it's just like lying to your kids about Father Christmas."

Before Harry could make a response they were called to the living room for what Harry presumed was the pre dinner small talk where you ate things in miniature. "Did you tell him your news, Dudley?"

Dudley went red, mumbling as he popped a snack, "Got a sports scholarship for uni."

Harry repressed the urge to blurt his sheer surprise that Dudley was smart enough to get into college, had presumed he would fail all of his A levels. Maybe that pretty tutor he'd spent mornings locked up with over summers with had paid off. Dudley was chattier than normal, perhaps being under house arrest and having someone else to talk to was novel and exciting. He knew when it had just been him and Hermione there had been huge laps of silence, nothing to say, no news to share because they were stuck starving in a tent with little connection to the outside world. "That's really great news, Dud. Congratulations." Aunt Petunia did not look pleased with level of excitement, so he tried again, "I bet it was really well deserved and took a lot of work to set those records."

Good, she was mollified enough to offer him the fancy food he'd never been allowed to have as a child. "Harry, when unpacking we found some of your photos."

He took the three photographs, all taken by Colin, a casual shot of himself, Ron, Hermione and Ginny snapped in the common room, Aunt Petunia referenced their posture, "Your girlfriend's hair is very similar to Lily's."

"We parted ways because of the war." He glanced and didn't exactly know why he was confiding in them, but they were the most removed people of the situation. "She got serious with someone else, opted to do a formal type of dating in our world called courting. We'll see though, he didn't come out of the war well." It felt wrong to even be thinking about it at all, but he'd spent so many months on the hunt missing her she still drifted through his thoughts before he fell asleep. It was the same with Cho, but she was doing a mourning period and they'd already raised eyebrows when Harry moved in with her during the latch.

"I'm familiar with it." Aunt Petunia looked like she might want to pat his arm, but didn't and at his questioning look, clarified with a look of remembrance. "Your parents. Your father had been pestering Lily for a date for years, she finally took him seriously after he used one of those weekend trips to show up at our house with his witnesses, reference letters from his teachers and asked permission. It was very formally done which our mother appreciated."

Harry was astounded, he knew little about his parents and less about the relationship between the two sisters. He settled into a conversation that was extremely overdue and was probably going to be incredibly boring for Dudley, who had never had to know the void Harry was so often reminded of. It would prompt more over the years, he would be who Dudley immediately called when his namesake child turned out to 'be a freak like you' and banished every chalkboard accidentally on his first day of grammar school.

* * *

September 1998

"Class dismissed." Professor Snape declared laconically, "Except you, Miss Weasley. Your week's worth of detention starts now."

"What? Why is she getting detention?" Hermione demanded hotly.

"Mrs. Weasley, do tell me the exact spot you took over making both your own potion and Miss Weasley's?" He indicated the second ingredient still only partially chopped on Ginny's board. Hermione felt herself flush and he raised an eyebrow, "Do run along now unless you'd like your _special accommodations_ revoked."

She gave Ginny an apologetic glance, who didn't seem to notice and left. Severus had not been particularly pleased to find out she'd chosen a Healer whose only availability was during his class time, nor that he was having to accommodate many students testimonies at the trials. He was fairly certain it would be a dismal O.W.L year. Yet Miss Weasley was a different case. He had done many terrible things during the wars, but often they never reared their ugly face again, he went back to work and didn't think of what had happened during the night. It was different when it was staring you in the face, when the young woman you'd encouraged the Dark Lord to obsess over was drifting through class. Hair so similar to Lily's, it was punishment to highest degree to hear the little clicks of the typewriter she used in the middle of the night, unable to sleep, to find her staring blankly at the ring on her hand, to hearing the awful things said to her in the hallways.

She was packing her bag, "I have to go. He can't be left alone, he's-"

"A watched caldron never boils." He tried for pragmatic, her hands stilled and clenched on her bag. "His mother is likely with him and Madam Pomfrey is never far."

Likely Narcissa as well, for when the Robinsons had been informed and Death Eaters released to community care before trial, his mother had claimed she needed someone to do magic and requested her one time captor. Severus supposed it was working out well, the two women with too much money and too much time on their hands had supposedly formed a bond during the the time she was in Narcissa's care over having only sons and constant tailoring and bittersweet shock that came at breaks upon seeing the little boy be more of a man each time. They kept themselves busy enough, launched a sleepaway exchange program between muggleborns and purebloods for incoming students under Molly Weasley's watchful eye per the Malfoy's court order, and were co-teaching the short class of humanities, what it meant to be be muggle, wizard, squib, everything under the sun. Minerva was pleased with the course and Narcissa smiled far more often than she had been want to, a lightness in her step as she settled in at the staff table for lunch. If he were to confess to himself, he would declare it infectious, the happiness as she chattered at him, filling his plate, a small derisive laugh at something uninformed her muggle said and that abrupt full blown smile she would stun the hall with.

Ginny was just standing there, waiting. He pulled the book down, "If you won't participate in class, Miss Weasley, perhaps you'll help brew a potion designed to rouse those who cannot wake."

She snatched the book from his hands, her own trembling, "What page?"

He took the book back and began flipping, his voice laconic in attempts to settle her. "Professor Weasley and I have been trying to identify the potion mentioned in the ballad. We've narrowed it to three, but all will have to be brewed as they are extremely rare."

"I'll just mess it up." It was nervously said, "You should do it. I'll just…fetch ingredients, chop things."

"You will brew. All sleeping beauty draughts perform optimally when made by the waiting individual. Potioning is not simply following a recipe, the brews are imbued with your magic and since you are currently in possession of Mr. Robinson's, that will do nicely." He corrected her, deciding not to mention that he was going to separately brew a back up. It had nothing to do with Ginevra Weasley's potioning ability, but more to do with her current state of mind. She set about her task with a focused enthusiasm he had not seen in the classroom for a long while. He sat back down at his desk, glancing around, spying a letter peeking out of her bag in familiar handwriting. His stomach clenched and the words slipped out, "What does He write you about?"

She froze then forcibly unclenched her hands as she looked away, "He doesn't like the food. Thinks he's being horribly mistreated."

"You don't have to correspond with him." He reminded her, moving over to watch her rabid chopping.

She looked up, "Just like you don't have to go for your visit and technically I do, being the only person he's willing to make his written confessions to."

"Uniform cuts are ideal." He moved away. No, he didn't have to go and sit and chat, but there was still the pull. The Dark Lord had not created an empire off of fear alone, as callous he could be about life, he had forged relationships. Had chosen those who needed reassurance, friendship, those used to violence, and drawn them into his dreams and plans. It was a terribly ugly thing to still feel bound, to care about someone so awful, because they had been there when nobody else was. This little redhead understood, was giving him a knowing, haunting look. She had taken the brunt of the press, been compared to everything between Helen of Troy and Bethesda, had published a book and dutifully attended trial after trial. He wondered if she knew that she had a detail, if the built up breakdowns were noted. If she had any idea that each time she testified and fled to what she thought was an empty hallway and horribly sunk to the ground in either a mess of tears or dreadful blankness, she was watched.

"I'm making him write apology letters to everyone." She said softly, chopping, "Please make sure he's made a start and apologize that I'll need to miss our fire call due to detention."

"Of course, Miss Weasley." He did feel bad for this young woman, he had chosen the dark path at her age, but she had not. This slip of a girl had not signed up to have a tattoo placed on her left forearm and been issued a hood, was just terribly doomed to handle the darkness. He'd have to bring up the curious cases of Ginny and Harry with Filius in their ongoing theoretical debate on coincidence and and circumstance.

"We handle what we're dealt." She hadn't looked up and he wondered if he'd spoken aloud.

There was a knock and he was surprised to see young Auror Potter, who looked extremely displeased to be back in the potions dungeon, but was giving the young Miss Weasley very anxious glances. This was what he hated about teenagers, the constant looking, hoping the other person will make a move and the furious blushing if they were caught staring by the other party. "Mr. Potter, to what do we owe this visit?"

It was strained between himself and Harry, Harry had been attempting to get to know him in a genuine fashion, asking about his mother, had even given one of most stumbled through apologies he'd ever received. "What are you doing here, Ginny?"

"Detention." She was peering determinedly at the recipe, barely giving him the answer at all. He pondered if he should remind her that if what Professor Weasley and the rest of the dragon taming folk thought the case was it wasn't going to be her boyfriend that woke up. "Harry, can I borrow your glasses? Can't read this amount, it's all smudged."

He went over and squinted with her, "Think it says 4 drams. When's the next Hogsmeade-"

"Mr. Potter?" He prompted again.

"Oh, we've got a credible death threat on you. I've been sent for protective detail." Harry scratched his eyebrow, clearly wondering if he'd delivered the news in an appropriate manner. He was glad his death threat was so casual to Harry, who didn't even have his wand drawn, not that he particularly thought he needed the protection.

"You're dismissed, Miss Weasley. I will store away your work." She looked like she was going to argue, but didn't. "I expect your caldron to be at the same stopping spot when you serve tomorrow's detention."

She glared at him for a moment and he knew he was right in suspecting she would try and break in during the night. "It's charms night anyway. Bye."

"What's charms night?" Harry asked in confusion.

She paused, "Ralph had a niche with charms, did an apprenticeship at the reserve and everything. So I do my homework with him."

"Miss Weasley, part of your detention is a ban on access the hospital wing. The comatose Mr. Robinson is not there to help you complete homework." Poppy certainly needed the break, had been complaining about the constant interference in treating her patient. Miss Weasley had channeled her guilt into wanting to do everything herself, had become rather short with the mediwitch over finding him clean shaven and stormed the staff room.

She left with an angry stomp and Harry trailed behind her, before realizing he was supposed to stay and stopped. "Ginny, wait. Can we talk later? I don't-"

She paused and turned around, "There are some things we can't unsay or unhear, Harry. Would have been nice if you had the decency to say it to my face, so I didn't have to hear about it from Tom, Auror Potter."

"He says a lot of things, Ginny and I'm positive whatever he told you is a lie. We don't talk around Riddle, so there's not a way he could have overheard whatever he said to you." Snape wanted to roll his eyes, instead he just cleared his throat to remind them he was there, waiting to find more out about his death threat.

"He has his ways. You've got a spy for him and an international one in the Auror department, by the way." Seemingly triumphant with his completely flabbergasted look, she settled it, "We'll talk later. Bye."

She stomped off and he glanced at Harry who seemed to be attempting to think of the possibilities in his head. "You may use the board if you wish." Harry gave him a nod of thanks. "For the record, he does not lie to her. He was very contemplative when considering which vows to use when they wed."

"Yeah, that marriage is just in his head, the Ministry has to keep rejecting his appeals to have it deemed official. He's under the impression she was startled with joy as he 'rescued her' from the centaurs in contrast to all of the other eye witness affadavits indicating she was befuddled. Crap, I forgot to ask if her if she'll request Riddle to stop his campaign to get the centaurs slaughtered. Surprising amount of support for it."

"There is a reason they sought sanctuary at Hogwarts." He settled in for an evening spent in Mr. Potter's unnecessary protective company, one filled with chess and questions about his mother.

* * *

October 31st, 1998

Charlie headed into the staff room, the questioning and demanding croon following him. "You've got to stay with me, bud. We've got to stay indoors because of the rain. I know you hate it. Hey everyone."

His dragon charge did not like that answer and sent him an image of going to Ginny and he sent an image back of himself. "No, Ralph. She doesn't need you to guard her. She's in class and you're extremely disruptive."

Charlie wasn't entirely sure how much english Ralph understood, since he could only communicate in noises and dragon style thought syncs, but on the off chance he did it would incredibly rude not to talk to him. Remus too was giving him a questing glance from where he sat on the blanket with Teddy. "Why is he all bandaged up?"

Charlie shook his head in aggravation, "Ginny's ovulating and dragons get very territorial about their mates when they're in heat, doesn't matter the species, if it's a male they don't want it near her to ensure any resulting eggs are their progeny. Actually worse in females, female trainers can't work with female dragons at all. Ginny came to see the goosegriffs Hagrid had been breeding, Ralph roared at one of them that kept bowing to her and promptly had his ass handed to him."

He ignored the little outraged roar as Ralph settled down and started doing little croons for Teddy. They were all certainly in the adjustment period with Ralph thinking he was a dragon, trying to get him on a schedule and very slowly giving him more freedom as for the most part he was a happy one. Except then a student would come running and they'd find a new type of odd behavior, it had only been this morning when he'd glanced up from walking his class back to see Ralph shirtless seven stories up as he climbed the castle because he wanted wind in his face to feel like he was flying. They'd opted to keep him at Hogwarts for the time being and the students were getting used to him running around with his egg or wrestling with baby dragons, the plus side is a lot of were so terrified of Ginny they left him to himself.

"Are the goosegriffs more or less aggressive than hippogriffs?" Minerva glanced up.

"Way more, geese can be downright nasty and the trait seemed to multiply. I'll need to drop Hagrid a line and change my curriculum, I don't think they're safe enough to introduce students to. That reminds, Minerva. Do you mind making an announcement asking the student body to not help Ralph get his clothes off, had to give three 6th year Ravenclaw girls detention for undoing the sticking charms and helping him with the buttons in the back." Mainly because if Ginny found out other girls were touching him or wanted eye candy she would go on a jealous rampage. She was extremely protective of him, felt terribly guilty and they were still charming a room to look like the outdoors so the two of them would stop sleeping in Charlie's pumpkin patch next to a little bonfire, which appalled their Mum. Ginny was terrified he'd wander off and get hurt during the night, but he wouldn't sleep indoors.

"Charlie, what are you planning on doing for detention?" She asked in slight alarm, "Some of Hagrid's ideas were a bit creative."

He grinned, loving that she went back and forth on trusting him to make normal adult decisions and had privately asked him to completely redo Hagrid's curriculum. "Figured if they wanted to mess with a dragon they could familiar themselves with them a different way." She looked even more concerned and he grinned, "Gonna have them gather the dragon dung and turn it into fertilizer for Pomona."

Remus smiled and looked away and Pomona grinned with a small snort, "Thank you Charlie. That's very expensive stuff, but worth every penny"

"Yeah, sorry, we sell it high because it helps fund the reserves, but it's not a problem for me to get any supplies. So let me know whenever you need more." He glanced over, "Same for you Severus, I know the dragon ingredients for potions are also highly priced and heavily controlled."

"Thank you, Charles. I'll check our stores." It always mildly got under Charlie's skin that Severus refused to call him by Charlie, insisting on the formal version.

An image popped into his brain and he made a face and shot one back of him staying right where he was. "Don't show me things like that and no, it's not time to go put eggs in Ginny."

There was a knock at the door, "It's Ginny, have you seen Ralph?"

"I've got him." Ralph was already off his feet and out the door giving her an excited roar of greeting. Charlie followed, leaning against the wall to wait for the kiss to end and for Ralph to put her back down. It took a while and he had to cough several times, before Ginny got the hint and and pulled away. He tucked his arms around her, "Gin, we need to talk. He's very single minded on you being in heat at the moment. I don't think you two should be alone for the duration, i don't know if he'll get out of hand."

She squeezed Ralph's hand, who was pecking her temple. "He's fine Charlie, he wouldn't hurt me. He's a good boy for me, aren't you?"

"Gin, you've seen dragons mate. It's not a gentle affair. I don't think he knows his own strength at the moment and he's pawing at you right now." He rubbed his side where he was going to have a bruise from Ralph had kicked him when he went to get him off the castle.

"Don't worry so much, bro. He's extremely gentle with me, never roars at me, just everyone else." He was giving her little amorous croons, trying to get her full attention back. She smiled at him, "C'mon Rob, let's go practice with getting you to eat with utensils. We'll go see if the House Elves will give us a picnic basket and get you used to the new room."

Charlie sighed, he wasn't going to get anywhere with her, "Do your homework first, Gin. Your essay for my class is late as it is."

She stuck her tongue out at him and fell into dragging her dragon away, "Oh, you miss flying so you climbed? When it's nicer out, I'll take you up on broomstick." Ginny was still riding high on hope that his state was temporary like the man who'd thought he was a teapot. The Dragon council and experts did not think it was similar, thought the dragons rewrote his brain sync as he healed, for they too considered him a dragon.

* * *

A/N: We've got two more epilogues, one of which is pure fluff! Reviews adored :)


	33. Jailbirds

A/N: Sorry for the long delay, traveling and having to restore the computer certainly took it's toll (major downer that I finally found where I'd saved everything related to Hermione attempting to be the voice of reason when Tonks decides to team up with Muriel and Bill supposedly trying to talk sense into an incensed Percy and Ginny before throwing his wand in the mix). You've got this epilogue, another that will pop out this week and one more. Very torn on it, on whether to tie up the loose ends or sort it all out in a sequel. There's also been a few requests on a Muriel focused prequel set in Grindelwald's times that's been niggling at my brain.

* * *

2 November, 1998 Gurdoon

There was a smacking noise and the light went swinging as Bill cursed. Hermione turned and gave her still muttering, rubbing his head husband a commiserating glance. Even in the human designed rooms, built long ago, in the goblin city of Gurdoon Bill was simply too big. She felt a little crushed, ducked now and again in their visiting dignitary quarters, but Bill was like a bull in a china shop throughout the city, waiting outside whenever it was appropriate or allowed, comically large when it was not. "You alright, Bill?"

He gave her a glare at her tired, but still slightly amused tones. "Yes, damn hovels." He sat on the ground, "You alright, love? It's been a long day."

"The ceremony was a bit much." She admitted, resting her hand on her stomach, she'd barely, just barely not been sick and was very glad Bill's new brother had told them not to eat for several hours in advance. "Yet completely fascinating, but…"

"All of the blood drinking?" Bill guessed and gave her his own squeamish smile and she was very glad nobody asked her to become a honorary goblin. "Had to love, we picked our clan well. Others would have been much more intense on my goblin ceremony."

She frowned at that, they had been very deliberate when Bill was asked to become an honorary goblin, had been approached by clan after clan. Bill had chosen one that was on the verge of prominence and one of both a coworker and a goblin who had died fighting beside him against the heavily damned spiders. She frowned again, voice firm. "Honorary goblin ceremony, Bill."

Bill shook his head stubbornly, "Say that again and you'll walk into a situation like Ron did when he said Ralph wasn't a real dragon."

She made a chuffing sound, "Ron said a lot of incredibly stupid things that night and Charlie was already tetchy because of the moon. I have no sympathy for Ronald, his broken nose or his Chudley Cannons."

Bill shook his head, but grinned and then there were fast little knocks at their door. She went over, trying to swallow down her irritation, they'd only just gotten back to their quarters, but she tried to force a smile on her face. She opened it to find two goblin women and two goblin men carrying the chair, the chair that made her feel ridiculous, it followed her everywhere. While the goblins did not care a whit for Bill's comfort, letting him sit on the floor or awkwardly on the little goblin sized chairs, they had built an appropriate sized chair for her with all sorts of padding. Bill kept calling it her throne, but had obediently talked the goblins out of making her sit in it and be carried about. One of the women excitedly shoved her basket over her head to show her, her words in english slow and careful. "Make very nice bath, for Sa Weasley and our baby. I run now."

She spoke back in her gobbledygook, equally as slow and carefully, gently turning down a bath and thanking her eyeing the lovely array of bath salts. She was certain she'd said it correctly, but the little lady moved past her all but trotting for the bathroom anyway and Hermione gave up and just let them all in at Bill's raised eyebrow. Bill took over communication and to her horror there were more in the hallway, setting up a little table and an array of food. While they had picked their clan based on Bill's goblin sense of honor and having a coworker he considered a friend, they had not known the clan was struggling with fertility, like most goblins. Had no clue their long lives and low birth rates were starting to concern the goblins and that Hermione would consequently spend her trip being treated like a lucky rabbit's foot. Her little goblin in laws completely obsessed over 'our baby', the women wanting to touch her stomach and drink tea with her, the men frothing at the mouth to get her anything she could possibly imagine wanting. Bill thought it was great, he loved when the goblins were nice and genuine without having to wonder what the clever little things wanted. They very clearly wanted babies and she found it overwhelming and slightly exhausting. Still, she picked up a cracker and put cheese on it, snacking and smiling at the little goblin staring her down, this one, this particular one made her uncomfortable. She couldn't pinpoint exactly why, perhaps his extra pointy ears, or that he was the only goblin to take down a spider single handedly, either way, she got antsy. He needed to blink, why wasn't he blinking?

"Sa Weasley, come." She was grabbed with a long fingered bony hand and dragged towards the bathroom. It only took a few minutes to realize they intended on staying and bathing her, she called out for Bill.

He took in the situation and said something to them, she looked excitedly at Hermione. "How get baby?"

"Err, maybe." This was good enough and they flounced out, leaving her with Bill who started helping get her out of the ceremonial wear she'd been put into.

"Told them I get to give you your baths." He dropped a kiss at her temple, "Haven't done that in a while and your shoulders look tense."

She nodded and slipped into the hot frothy, oiled water. "Can you make them um, less aggressive about the spoiling, or you know, everything?"

"No." He told her lightly. "It would offend them, count yourself lucky, love. You're getting to see a side of the goblins few do since the women don't work outside the homes. There's a huge discrepancy, far more men than women, so they're very prized and treated like little queens. Had a coworker take time off because his lady jammed her thumb and he needed to take care of her."

"Mmmhmm, heard about it at tea with them. Remember that time I accidentally took off my jewelry and you got upset, Griphook told me it was a goblin recognized divorce? One of your new sisters is leaving her husband for another richer goblin, she has grounds since they've been married ten years and he hasn't given her a baby. Goblin marriages seem to have a lot of rules and a lot of clauses that mean women run the show."

"I'll get you a book if you're interested. Might be worth the read before future trips here or to the clan lands." Bill started rubbing the knots out of her shoulders, long fingers exerting just the right amount of slightly painful pressure. "What's got you so tight, love?"

"I'm just worried, my dreams have been odd." She told him, she had never remembered her dreams before the nightmares and baby was in her.

"Dreams are probably from baby's Prewett blood, ask Mum about it. She had all sorts strange prophetic dreams when pregnant." He leaned over, peering at her face and sighed, "Harry and Ron will be fine, love. Please tell me you're not stressed that they're taking the first test you couldn't help them study for?" His voice was reassuring, lightly teasing her.

"It's not the first test! I dropped divination, not that they ever seemed to study for that class anyway." She told him slightly defensive.

"Well, love, and you spent some time there petrified and they managed to not utterly fail." She muttered 'barely' under her breath, "Besides, they've actually been practicing with the twins, got a crash course on disguise and concealment techniques from them. The twins had a lot more than a magic map up their sleeve to pull off all of their various shenanigans at Hogwarts." Bill soothed.

"But Ron still can't properly brew polyjuice." She protested and got a little squeeze to her shoulders followed by a peck to her neck.

Bill seemed to be about to say something and she had the sense it was along the vein of Ron might be able without her constant oversight, which made him nervous, then thought better of it. "All that's on your mind?"

"I'm worried about Ginny. I know your Mum and Charlie are there, but I just keep having dreams that she ends up hurt. She's excited about it and determined, but nervous. I keep telling her if she wants to move it to the next level that maybe while he's obsessed with putting eggs in her isn't the best time." It rushed out, for the most part she tried to respect the privacy of what Ginny told her and not share with Bill, but sometimes she needed him to help be the support she needed. Or to explain what pureblood nonsense Ginny and Luna had been on about.

Bill stilled his hands, "They can't. Percy chastity belted her after a night at the pub with Oliver's crew where he realized Charlie, while there, wasn't chaperoning them at all. Wanted me to punish Charlie and have you set Ginny straight on the fact it should be the men who initiate things." He popped a kiss on her nose, "I like when you initiate though. One of my favorite things."

"Gin will be furious." Hermione informed, shifting and causing an almost angry splash, "What's going to happen, you know when they try?"

Bill sounded thoughtful, "No clue which one Perce used. Some means he won't be able to get her undressed past a certain point, there's even the _interruptus_ kind where if they get too close things will screech to a halt for some reason. Real interesting magics on that one, basically calls on the universe to create distractions at just the right moment, quite a bit of underlying time magic on it. Probably what he went for or one of the ones that will punish Ralph, putting an immediate stop to proceedings by you know, things like hives or being violently sick. Doubt he'd use anything that would hurt or punish Gin."

Hermione nodded her agreement, soothed by that at least. There was nothing she or Bill could do about her dreams, only time would tell if any of it had a basis in reality or not. While disconcerting, she liked them far better than the nightmares she'd been plagued with for so long. "So what's next on our Gurdoon agenda?"

"Finish giving the wife a wash, then we've got to get spruced up for the feast." He leaned in and gave her a sweet kiss and she swooned a little. "We'll do breakfast with the clan tomorrow, big ole diplomatic lunch and parade, then you get to portkey back to your studies and I'll stay for a few more days, smacking my head into more ceilings."

She made a face at him, Bill had imbued her schoolbag and books to stay home. She felt like she was losing valuable ground for her attempts to take a few tests before baby and Bill adamantly argued she needed a break and to be fully present for this trip. He might have taken them, but she'd hidden away her notecards and notes in her bag, not that she'd had time to glance at them. All the same, her gobbledygook was very nascent, so she just ran through facts in her head and it felt like studying. Still, she was going to miss him in the few days apart. "I thought we already went to the big feast?"

"Goblins like to feast, love. We'll have to host one when the baby comes and they descend on us. Want me to leave your hair all fancy or undo it and wash it?" Bill asked jovially, he too liked to feast. He was almost childlike in his enjoyment, happy smile stuck on his face at the abundance of food, drink and music. Had grabbed her turkey leg from her to excitedly point at the entertainment last night, then absentmindedly eaten it as they watched the eerie goblin story dance. She had already privately decided for his birthday she was going to take him to the renaissance fair near her grandparents and let him go nuts. Likely her family would go with them and hopefully help keep him from acting very non-Muggle, she had a sneaking suspicion Charlie was going to invite himself, leading to the twins. For the most part Bill did well, got along with her parents, though her father was very amused when they went on an outing and played tennis, where Bill for life of him could not stop calling it a 'tenny rocket'.

Hermione did not like this answer and her face informed her husband. She was going to have a new baby, school when she was ready, both of their families probably underfoot. "Leave the hair, they took ages on all of the little braids. You will be handling everything feast related."

Bill cracked up, "Screw that, Mum can do it. She loves this sort of thing, knows how to feed massive amounts of people without making it look hard. Keep her busy."

Hermione shook her head, "Bill! Your mother is extremely busy, probably the most popular person at Hogwarts. Her den mother role ended up being a lot more than expected, she's practically Deputy Headmistress and anytime anyone has a problem, it's to your Mum they go. The little first years are all settled, but the older ones aren't. Whether it's dealing with something upsetting from the war or using her as a mediator, watching Teddy or Ralph. I think she's even helping a few with courtship papers."

"I'm glad. She always says she's too busy to write, I need to stop by and check on her. Mum never could be idle and she's got the mediation thing down, did it all the time when we were kiddos." Bill sounded pleased. "She said she was too busy to come see me become a goblin. Thought she might be lying."

Hermione stretched and reached down to pull the plug, voice tentative. "She came to Ginny and I, one of the kids we saved on Evacuation Day's fathers wants to take her to a thank you dinner. She got very freaked out about it. We told her it's just eating things at the same table as someone and talking, he's a widower and might just want the company, that it's nice to make new friends."

She rinsed and let Bill think, tucking into the heated towel the thoughtful goblins had left, terrified 'our baby' would catch a chill. She mused on what Bill had done, proud that they were building interspecies ties, but a bit concerned that her children would get turned into goblins as well. Her gobbledygook was very poor, but it sounded like Bill had been alright with that or agreed to foster them over a summer with the clan and she had a sneaking suspicion they were going to beg to get to help take care of baby. She had a very deep feeling that Bill had let things go alot farther than she was comfortable with. She tuned back into Bill, who had a rather bittersweet look on his face. "In my letter from Dad he asked that I made sure Mum wasn't lonely, that she wasn't even halfway through her life and to remind her moving on with someone else took nothing from the love they had shared or the family they'd built." He paused thinking, "I think Ron will be the most agitated by it."

"Probably, but I think she'll need that reminding once she's anywhere near ready." Hermione agreed softly, slipping into the beginnings of the feast outfit they'd laid out for her, she frowned, "Bill, I am not going in there with a bare belly. They're touching me enough as it is and asking well, very invasive questions about what we specifically did for me to get pregnant."

Bill laughed, "You've at least got a language barrier to hide behind. You should hear what they're asking me, they are very appalled by the fact humans have to use contraceptives to avoid pregnancy. Might of fumbled that pass, one of the goblins then got very suspicious his wife was doing something of the sort."

She smiled at him, finding one of her shirts and started to tuck it on. Sometimes she looked around and wondered when she was going to wake up, because surely this was a dream. Little girls who dream of growing up and being a dentist do not get to go to magic school, fight in wars, marry handsome men that are part werewolf and goblin. If it was, she didn't want to wake up. Bill took the shirt from her and passed her a loose finely made chain mail. She looked at him in confusion. He grinned, "Trust me. Sotook said sometimes other clans raid feasts, usually in good fun, but better safe than sorry. I get to bring my axe."

She didn't bother to roll her eyes, Bill loved that thing, the goblins loved Bill with it even more. While they had a clan emblem, they also had a house one for their family. Bill was thrilled with the spider with an axe superimposed on it, she was decidedly less so and had pointed out to him that if he liked it so much he had to stop asking her to come kill the spiders at home. He'd ignored it and his goblin name was for all intents and purposes 'spider-killer'. She pushed it away, not like they were going to have giant spiders for him to off at the feast. She so very dearly hoped. "We're causing quite the ruckus, aren't we, biscuit?"

"Of course. We're trying to change the world, aren't we?" Bill grinned back and she reached up, stealing a kiss, falling into it, his hands going to undo the dressing work she'd already done. They were, they were helping build into a better, more equal place with a gusto.

* * *

13 November, 1998

Severus walked into the staff room, glanced around. There was dragon king, sitting with Teddy and Remus on the blanket, a very tiny dragon on the top of his head and one on his shoulder. He made a face watching him feed them, not thinking he should have strips of rare meat so close to such a small child, but Remus didn't seem to mind and to his utter disgust was also snacking from the bowl. Werewolves. He avoided them and went over to where Minerva, Charles and Narcissa were sitting. "Good morning."

"Morning! How did the visit go?" Minerva asked anxiously, Severus had been the lucky winner to take the Robinsons to meet Lord Voldemort, let the half brothers try and get to know each other.

"Went up in flames." He paused, "Corporeal flames. Lord Voldemort had expected Ginny to be with them and became very agitated she wasn't. He was uncooperative and angry that not only had his half brother been adopted, but aggressive about various other topics."

He took the tea Narcissa offered him, "Like what?"

"Your muggle-" He paused at Minevra's glare, "Elena tried to get him to apologize for turning Ralph into a dragon. He told her it hadn't been his intention, his intention had been to kill him so he didn't feel the need to apologize. It appears the dragon king got both his temper and language from his father."

"Oh dear." Minerva put a hand to her chest.

Elena came in, patted the dragon on her son's head and wandered over while Severus kept going. "Miss Weasley had sent several things with them, but Mr. Robinson had a muggle fire maker and decided to burn 'all of his sweet Ginevra's affection' in front of him while giving a very colorful narration interspersed with snippets from her letter."

"Lighter." Elena dropped down next to him, nonplussed and shook her head. "I do apologize Minerva, for Ralph showing up to Hogwarts knowing a litany of curse words. Tried to get it out of my boys, but when I broke my back Daddy took over and where he went they went, locker rooms, practices, pubs, team bus." She shook her head again, but her dragon was smiling clearly having loved it and she gave him a motherly smile in return. "I burned the photo, I was sort of hoping Mr. Riddle would cry, but he just shook and screamed in rage." She lit up at Narcissa, "We got told we're the first visitors to ever get banned for bad behavior! He was an incredibly rude man and I think you all should do the memory thing on him so he forgets about Ginny, he's disturbingly obsessed with her."

She got a roar of agreement. "Does someone mind doing the linking spell for me? I want to show Ralphie."

Charles popped it and her eyes unfocused, he let out a whistle. "Well, there's something. Thanks for taking them, Severus. I tried to go with Gin, but he refused to look upon me because of the time thing and got so volatile she could only handle about five minutes of him for something Harry had asked. She came out extremely shaky, which is why we didn't let her go yesterday." He glanced over, 'Yeah, R, you did punch me in the face for bringing her back like that, pratgon. Why you're banned from Hogsmeade now, can't just go around hitting people." He turned back to them, "Does that insult make sense? Trying to come up with new ways tell him when he's being a tosser of a dragon."

Minerva rolled her eyes, Severus shook his head and Elena smiled at him, "Molly told him to stop acting like a gecko the other day when he was fidgety during his haircut. He felt very insulted."

"Anyone have a copy of the prophet?" Filius asked jovially, wandering in and a glance showed Charles looking very thoughtful.

The room darkened and Minerva frowned, "You don't want to read today's Charlie. It'll upset you."

"Why not? If it's another article about me I don't give a flying flip, if parents don't want their kid knowing how to identify which breeds are venomous they're idiots. Not like any of the kids got hurt." He grabbed a pastry from the table. "You'd think I'd get points for politely turning her offer of a date down, not just get slandered constantly."

Severus shook his head, not particularly caring about the details of the second eldest Weasley's seemingly complicated dating life and personally thought some of Charles' frequency of being a target was due to his inability to keep his mouth shut. He had been completely astounded when it came out that Charles also had been doing a bit of undercover work for Albus, keeping track on an up and coming movement in Romania. He pulled his copy from his cloak and passed it over. "They did an expose on Ralph in wake of Ginny's award. Don't be alarmed, Charles, you too are not forgotten."

Charles snatched it out of Filius' hand and began scanning, "Nice, they left the entire part of him and Ginny being attacked, just made it sound like he went crazy and started breathing fire at everyone. Oh there I am..What? Really? Well that's messed up, but sort of flattering."

He tossed it aside, shaking his head, Minerva questioning him. "How did he do that? It's not anatomically possible." Minerva asked in concern, "It's not safe with the students."

"Found some fire ferns in the Forbidden Forest and has been eating them in secret. Turns out he's been really frustrated he couldn't breathe fire at people he was annoyed with, mainly me, and thought it made him less of a dragon." Charles grabbed another pastry, "They're poisonous, so Pomona and the centaurs are going to help me eradicate them."

Molly came in and firmly placed a hand on Charles' shoulder, seething, "As if Charlie is going to somehow become the next threat to the wizarding world being taken over. There's never been a dark Prewett or Weasley."

Charles and Elena both laughed at something, "He made a joke, said he's got the crown on his head and an entire species, no way I've got a chance. His humor is getting more human, nice sign."

Severus tried not to be amused at the ludicrous idea that Charles Weasley was going to raise an army and take over Britain to build some sort of new regime where Hagrid would be the Minister of Magic. "Minerva, who is on duty for this Hogsmeade weekend?"

She gestured over to a posted piece of parchment, "I just ask that you indicate if you're going or not. Usually enough of us venture in that coordinated coverage isn't necessary. I believe Aurors Potter and Weasley amongst others will also be present."

He nodded and Charles added on, "I believe the twins will be there as well, hawking their goods. Best give Argus a heads up."

"Charlie, will you-"

He cut Minerva off with a grimace, "I'm no longer privy to any information since I am now a prime target for it to be used against, the shop is even charmed to not let me in. Got trapped in their floo as well, can't even go to their flat. Ask Mum, she can wheedle things out of them, been onto them for years." He glanced over and nodded, "Or Ginny."

Molly shook her head, "Not enough time, it's quite the process to get them to talk then sort through their ever changing stories to find the real one. They don't like lying directly to me, so there's always at least one true thing in there."

Remus stood up, cradling a squirming little Teddy and glanced around for volunteers and Severus made eye contact. "I've got a free period."

When forced to live with Remus under pretrial release had developed an unexpected fondness for the baby as they juggled their way through it, Teddy slept easier when put down by himself. Teddy even more surprisingly had taken to him instantly and gave a little clap at being plopped in his lap, making his not quite word noises, hair going black to match his, nose changing slightly, and pointing at the little dragons excitedly. While Andromeda usually had Teddy, she was under the weather so it was staff as a village to handle the little bug until she and Molly weren't contagious.

"Ralph do you mind helping demonstrate again?" Remus asked and he shook his head, waving a replica of Ginny's hairpin, popping up and following. Severus looked at Charles.

"Remus is teaching stunners, Ralph is the demo that not everyone goes down from one. He knows he was different before and likes being helpful, plus it keeps the jackass out of trouble. Surprised my fourth years last week by just showing up with a hurt unicorn for me to treat." He paused thinking, 'That reminds me, Minerva, the centaurs are coming up on their 50 year games and were wondering if they could use some of the field? They're trying to be more inter species friendly and thought some of the students might want to watch the archery contests."

"Not at all, I'll stop by later and we can discuss the matter? I'd like to see how your new addition is settling in." A new addition Severus had no idea why Minerva was letting Charles Weasley have, albeit it was a cat, an enormous hunting feline that outweighed most of their first years. Severus was not a pet person, one of the most bothersome duties as Head of House was dealing with students who had managed to lose their charges. "How did you come to have your new _pet?_ "

Charles looked guilty and Severus got the distinct impression it was probably something to do with the now defunct gambling ring the Weasley brothers had brokered to supposedly fund the Order, "It's quite a long story, technically she was meant for Ralph as work helper at the Reserve." His neck got red and he shot a nervous glance at Minerva. "It can be extremely tricky to get the dragons to let you check the clutch, so most of the nesting specialists have predators as a familiar. They distract the dragon and are fast enough to dodge the flame, we'll train this baby for it."

"You'll do no such thing on school grounds, Professor Weasley. Having nesting dragons at Hogwarts is already pushing the limits of the board's tolerance, having them purposefully flaming will be a nightmare." Minerva scolded him and seeing as she was gearing up to very firmly realign Charles' brain into proper thinking decided he and Teddy should be elsewhere.

"Tell Remus that Teddy and I will be in my office." He scooped the tot, taking the bag Narcissa obligingly put over his shoulder as she too readied to head to class. Teddy gave a little gurgle twined his fingers into the cloak, playing with the fastener as they walked. "I heard about the raid, everything alright?"

She gave a tight nod, "Thank you again for spending your weekends helping Draco and Lucius prepare the house so Draco's courtship could proceed. It would have been a nightmare if it still had all of the Lestrange's collection in it."

That it would have been and while most of the dark artifacts had been willing turned over to the Ministry, under Potter's watchful gaze in guise of helping, he knew not all of them had. He shoved it aside. "What's on the docket today?"

Narcissa gave him a smile, "Our first through third years are getting told about merpeople and sirens, muggles have a very different view on them. Elena will explain why muggles put them on their ship fronts, I'll handle their recognized rights. What do you have brewing?"

"Calming draughts, a diluted love potion and my NEWTs will attempt wolfsbane." She tickled Teddy and waved her goodbye eyebrow still raised at the love potion. He found it was a necessary evil, too many of the students were trying to brew it on their own and Poppy had her hands full undoing their wretched attempts. This way they could at least control which variation they were using.

He peered into the storeroom to see if his unexpected potion mistress was hiding away again. She was. Severus wasn't exactly sure what tipped his karma over the edge to make him play a role in trying to slow the deterioration of Ginevra Weasley, but since he'd encouraged the madness of Lord Voldemort over her he felt obligated to try and stem it. "You should be in class."

She startled and looked over her shoulder, "Why? Not going to manage any N.E.W.T.s anyway. Probably pull a Fred and George and bail before I take them, better that than everyone thinking I'm stupid."

He didn't argue the point, for it was likely true. For the most part Ginny Weasley was getting pity passed, everyone looking the other way and blaming her sheer scholastic decline on the trials, on the stress, on the trauma, on everything under the sun but the girl herself. Severus personally suspected there was a deeper issue at root, but her family seemed convinced she would bounce back given a bit of time. He also heavily suspected his little hideaway put on a very heavy front of being alright with them, did not pause as if physical pain as he'd spied her doing from time to time. "If you're not going to attend your classes or sit your exams, Miss Weasley, why are you at Hogwarts?"

"The company is excellent." It was a light quip and a non answer. "Will you read this? It's a draft of my speech."

He nodded and she passed him the paper, all but snatching Teddy from his arms, not bothering to ask who she was hiding from today. He scanned, scanned again, ignoring the baby giggles. "Miss Weasley you do not mention yourself once here."

"Excellent. Just what I was going for, I didn't sign up for their stupid award so I'd rather talk about all of the other woman that should have gotten it. Hermione, Professor McGonagall, Muriel, Tonks, Luna, that conservation witch who's secret-keeping huge chunks of her rainforest so the muggles don't destroy it. Once I get your feedback I can rewrite it out and send Harry a copy, he's doing the same thing."

Interesting, it was the first time in seventy years that both the wizard and the witch were from the same country and he suspected Harry and Ginny were among the youngest recipients of the honor. He also knew that this speech was not what the crowd wanted to hear, they wanted to hear all about how the girl who'd never wavered in her belief of Harry Potter became a heroine in her own right. He chose his words very carefully, "I believe Mr. Potter mentioned that Ministry approval was required for the speeches?"

She waved him off, focused on the little happy gurgles she was getting as Teddy tugged at her hair. "They've already approved a draft, full of bollocks about how well the Ministry did during the war. Hermione wrote it, but once I'm up there I can say whatever I want. Harry's talks about you."

He gestured for her to vacate the seat and took up a quill to begin making corrections and suggestions. If she didn't want to give out the salacious details of getting stuck in a quagmire of love, he respected that. The press was doing an excellent job of speculating anyway, even at his trial the suspicion was raised that he only returned to the winning side because of repeated exposure to little Ginny Weasley's pure heart. While he still found Harry rather insufferable to deal with, he found he respected him as well. Harry was not like his father, as he had so long thought he was, or perhaps he had grown the way James supposedly had, but Severus had been long gone from Lily's friendship then. Harry knew his motivations, had testified on his behalf and never once revealed his feelings for Lily. Had very purposefully left that as a sacred secret between them without being asked, something to respect in a boy he too often thought courted the fame he'd been bestowed with. What else was there to say, "Who else does he mention?"

"Well Ron and Hermione, obviously. Dumbledore, his father, Sirius, Cedric, Remus, Mad-Eye, Kingsley, Oliver, my dad, my brothers. Pretty much everyone Order and Xenophilous for trusting his story and publishing it. His speech is really lovely, much better than mine."

Something in her tone made him think that she was incensed at certain exclusions and that Hermione Weasley had a heavy hand in his speech writing. The young expectant mother had not slowed her pace at all, upping it to take some of her exams on an accelerated schedule. Her partner in crime had opted not to return to curse breaking and created a dynamic consulting role in the maelstrom of post war to be the flexible parent, bound and determined his precious pearl would have full reign to follow her dreams. To Severus they were disgustingly in love, the poster relationship for happily ever after according to every news source. To their credit they eschewed the press, did not want to be painted into history as larger than life caricatures of their war time injuries and love story. Both point blankly refusing to answer questions about her torture, his mauling, finding out about the pregnancy and instead focusing every interview they granted on equality rights. The eldest Weasley losing his temper a bit at the irrelevant line of questioning after his speech on goblin relations on behalf of the Ministry, with the result of Fred Weasley intervening with a smooth show of maturity Severus had not known him capable of. If only it was so easy for everyone else, Severus too eschewed the press and in many ways that muddied the waters of who and what he was, leading to rampant speculation. He tuned back in, scanning, Ginevra had an intriguing way with words almost as if she was writing music, building the crescendo and delivering refrains that hit home. It was perhaps her greatest strength and largest downfall. He gave the tiniest of smiles at a certain section, for he had once been treated by the formidable Muriel Prewett.

"You'll go to the ceremony, right?" It was almost anxiously asked and a glance showed she had the hand not holding Teddy pressed into her side.

"Are you alright, Miss Weasley?" He stilled his quill.

She smoothed it down as if undoing a wrinkle, giving him a reassuring smile just as the calling crooned version of her name could be heard. She passed him back Teddy, "He's still a bit protective, but the dungeons don't agree with him, thinks the house elves will get him. I have to go."

Then she was slipping out, cutting off all lines of questioning and Severus wondered at her constant evasiveness. For not the first time it crossed his mind that a certain hat likely had offered her his house as an option.

* * *

December 22nd, 1998

"Go sit down, Hermione." Ginny commanded, shooing her out of her own kitchen. "Get caught up, take a rest. Bill and I can manage plopping appetizers onto to trays."

Bill picked up a cheese cube and put it down, "See, I'm a natural, love! Save your energy for catching up with your friends, I'm a great house husband."

Hermione laughed and let him usher her over to the couch next to Parvati and Lavender. She wasn't sure whose idea it was to have a holiday party for the DA members, but with the Room of Requirement not yet recreated, since they didn't know how it happened in the first place, Hermione and Bill had offered up Shell. Lavender was tentative, "Can I touch your stomach?"

She nodded and they both put hands eagerly on it, hoping to feel the baby, who obligingly flipped around for them and got little squeals. Bill was convinced they were having a girl, she thought boy, Charlie was still getting to name their child and was very secretive about his choices. Hermione was slightly worried, but he said he'd have back ups and that mama had veto power even if he was going to tease them until the baby popped out. She smiled at them, "You two are creating quite the little beauty empire!"

Parvati looked humbly down and Lavender blushed, "It's just makeup tutorials for the magazines and helping out with the Teen Witch line."

It was a lot more than that, Fred and George had tapped two of their most frequent teen witch customers into consultants and demo girls, their makeup and hair tutorials for Witch Weekly and the Daily Prophet, now under new ownership, were huge hits. They were both getting their magical cosmetology degrees and hoping to get into wedding and introduction ball events. "I think it's wonderful, you've found something that really fits. I wish I was that made up in my mind, but we'll have to see how overwhelming the baby is at first."

"You'll do fine. Managed to keep Harry and Ron alive for years!" Parvati encouraged, sipping on her drink.

"Yeah, Bill said he's redesigned his whole career to be the flexible one. I guess being a goblin consultant and honorary goblin has it's perks." She glanced up at Bill's axe on the wall and still wanted him to take it down.

"It's certainly expanded our family." Hermione acknowledged, "We're going to a goblin-house elf wedding next week."

"I left your gifts under the tree along with Remus', if that's alright?" Lavender had spent a lot of time at Hermione's kitchen table talking with Bill and Remus as she adjusted. She had been lucky, her scars weren't on her face, but coverable if she wore a turtleneck and Remus had been very reassuring that with wolfsbane she wouldn't have the self inflicted injuries he did. She did wonderful tutorials on how to cover the tiredness and baggy eyes that came with the full moon and had settled into being a slightly different person than she was. Bill suspected Lavender had developed quite the crush on her former teacher, which was a recipe for heartbreak, but with her new restraint did not seem to have any plans of ever addressing the issue.

"Of course, remind me or Bill to get yours as you leave. I'm not as sharp as I used to be." She smiled, the baby was stealing her thoughts and making her forgetful, which tickled everyone to no end. Ginny came over with a new tray of tiny skewers of things and looked around, she winked at Hermione and placed it on her baby bump. "Ginny! I'm not a table."

"Kidding." She passed it to Parvati to place on the side table and headed back to the kitchen.

"How's she doing?" Parvati asked quietly, "I can't imagine it's easy. I was practicing on a lady this week who..well…had some very strong opinions."

Yes, that was problematic, the previous owners of the Daily Prophet had a field day with Ginny worse than when they had been slandering Harry. That was until the Malfoys and Robinsons decided to buy the paper after several horrendous exposes on Ralph and Ginny. The previous owner was currently awaiting trial on extortion charges as Mr. Malfoy and many others had kept documentation of how they were blackmailed or bribed the paper. Hermione was very pleased with the turn of events and had a standing job offer, she just wasn't sure she wanted to have to work closely with Mr. Malfoy. "She doesn't read any of it and Ralph can't read, we don't think, so it's mainly just whispers at school. Lavender, you've seen that little hat Teddy is always in that changes colors to match his hair? She took ages on it so I'm excited to see what she's making for the little one."

"Oooh, I imagine it will be lovely! Teddy loves that hat, adores putting it on his little stuffy." Lavender agreed happily enough. "Little Teddy is going to be a heartbreaker someday, just the sweetest little thing."

"Hey girls." Dean perched on the side arm cutting off baby Teddy's wonderful attributes, Seamus sidling closer to Parvati and Hermione needed to remind herself to ask how that was going, she knew they'd been out a few times.

"Neville, how was Costa Rica?" Lavender called to the newly arrived Neville and Hannah, "Your photos were great."

"It was amazing, so many different native magical plants, I couldn't believe it. Monkeys steal your food though, so that took some getting used to." Neville told them excitedly and Hannah gave him an indulgent smile. She'd clearly missed him and probably heard this question asked a hundred times. He came over and pecked her cheek, holding up a beautiful potted vine with wonderful smelling white flowers, "Where do you want me to put this? Magical moon vine, only blooms at night and will do great with your sandy soil."

"Thank you, Neville! You didn't have to bring us anything. Um, the mantle would be a great spot. Drinks are on the side bar and there's food just sort of floating around." She gestured to where some trays were indeed floating of their own accord throughout the party and made a mental note to write a thank you note to her mother in law for showing up with all things needed for a magical party.

He turned to Ron to fall into a more detailed conversation about it and Hermione was very happy in the moment, hand resting on her bump, Dean and Lavender's conversation drifting. Well, until she looked at Harry who was completely tuned out of whatever Terry and Zacharias were saying and followed his gaze, she internally sighed just able to see Ginny in the corner of the kitchen with her compact out, touching up makeup. Bill had told her not to meddle, she wasn't an owl between them, that at the end of the day Ginny was who Harry needed to talk to. Except their last real conversation hadn't gone well, Harry had tried to explain and shoved his foot in his mouth even worse and Ginny had gotten extremely upset. Things were slightly strained between Harry and herself at the moment as she'd thought Ginny was justified, and if Harry had said that to her about having a nontraditional relationship because of Bill's condition she would have ripped his head off. He meant well and it was coming from a place of concern, but bless him, having a temper tantrum didn't exactly help anyone.

"Hermione?" She looked up and smiled at Luna. "Do you need a refill?"

She boosted herself up, "I'll get it, Luna. Need to check on Bill anyway. Will you go check on the twins? I get nervous when I can't hear their joking tones."

"Luna, how's it going with Rolf?" Parvati asked and Hermione could feel Luna's slight blush at her back and smiled. The magizoologist had used his entire thesis stock of exploding snails during the Battle of Hogwarts and asked Ginny and Charlie very politely if he could study Ralph instead as they'd roomed together. He seemed to spend rather a lot of time with their Head Girl, heads bent together in discussion. Hermione thought their romance would be slow and tentative, gentle as they both were, but they enjoyed each other's company and were talking about creature hunting with her father.

Bill's voice was soft and he cut himself off, then seeing it was just her went on. "Ginny go talk to your friends, stop hiding in here. There's no reason to be shy."

"They'll ask invasive questions and Harry won't stop staring." She muttered it into her compact, powdering her nose.

"So don't answer them, Gin. It's natural to be curious, they don't mean anything by it." Bill tried and she shook her head, Bill shot her a helpless look.

Hermione went over, "Ginny, if I ask Harry to stop, will you come out?"

She gave a dramatic sigh and nodded, Hermione went back out to talk to Harry when the sounds of excited roaring and splashing could be heard. Charlie's baritone bellowing at him to get out of the water, that it was freezing. Ginny went through the party and out the door without a coat, her voice floating back screaming that Crookshanks was not starving and could catch his own fish as conversations picked back up, but there was a sense of curious waiting. A pause at Ginny's shrieks as she was apparently doused in the icy waves and there was blatant staring as they came in. Ginny wet with a little dragon on her shoulder, him soaked, holding her hand and his giant egg like a quaffle under the other arm, little dragon on his head as they moved through the party and up the stairs to dry off. Ralph peering around giving greeting croons to people he knew, Ginny very much not looking at anyone.

Hermione knew she wasn't normally embarrassed by him, didn't bat an eye at school when he did something strange and could only guess it was because everyone at school was used to it by now. Hermione waited until she heard a door shut and turned back to Harry, "You've got to stop staring at her, it's why she's been hiding in the kitchen."

Harry was still staring upstairs, then looked back to her. "I'm still going to ask her if she wants to spend the day in Hogsmeade, just as friends. You know, sort things out? She needs a break."

Hermione shared a glance with Ron that said, seriously, you haven't talked him out of that and got a half shrug indicating he'd been trying because Harry clearly meant, but not as just friends. She knew that Harry had been given a letter Ralph had written him, knew it excited a wild hope in Harry that Ralph clearly expected her to move on with him, but Ralph hadn't died as he thought he would and Ginny clearly wasn't looking anywhere else.

"Keep telling you she'll bring Ralph with her and he'll roar at you if you keep staring at her like that. There's very few people he can talk to at Hogwarts, so he's almost always with Ginny or Charlie. Dragons are real social creatures, mate." Ron obediently said and gave a shrug, sipping his drink.

"Is Cho coming tonight?" Hermione tried, she and Harry were still spending lots of time together, but Hermione wasn't sure quite what the nature of the relationship was as Harry wasn't sure himself. She knew Cho was still mourning, Harry was still confused about Ginny and the bouts of intimacy between Harry and Cho just seemed to confuse them more. Cho had told Harry she wasn't ready for anything yet, Harry was confused if that meant she would tell him or if he was supposed to guess had Ron tell him that as soon as she left a toothbrush over it was a relationship. He'd been with them during the moon and gotten advice from her and Bill, then completely conflicting advice from Charlie and even stranger advice from Ron, who in his attempts to handle groupie girls wasn't exactly the captain of smooth sailing. So far he seemed to be taking her and Bill's advice, having thrown out Charlie's for being biased and Ron's for not making any sense. Hermione and Harry were united on one front, they were bound and determined to not let Ron be the international wizard in the popular radio show where women competed for his affection, as the twins were madly encouraging him to do. Bill and Charlie were absolutely no help on this front, completely of the mind that if Ron wanted to publicly make an ass out of himself he was free to.

"Erm, she said she was, bought a dress for it. Today was promo shots for the upcoming quidditch season, probably why Draco isn't here either."

"Malfoy?!" Terry Boot asked in complete disgust.

"I still can't believe you invited the tosser." Ron huffed.

Harry shrugged, "Look, bridge building and what not. He may not be a friend, but the thing is, Malfoy could have been a lot worse, chose not to. I'm not saying he's not a tool, but there was a lot of necessary bluster and tons of threats against his family behind it."

"Voldemort kept threatening his parents with killing him, threatening him that he'd kill his Mum." Hermione nodded her support, it had been Bill, having never seen them interact, who won the lucky draw to be the official mediator between Harry and Draco to suss out six years of rivalry. Bill had accepted, assuming he would be promptly be contested by the Malfoy side, who surprisingly didn't complain, merely murmured if he could handle goblins he was acceptable. Bill had been sort of ticked and often showed up after a session grumbling to himself and wanted his hair played with, but had not spoken to her about what had been said, told her if she wanted to know she had to ask Harry. While frustrating, it made her love him more, that he kept his word on the privacy of what he'd been ask to do, that the sanctity of any relationship, even a contentious one, deserved the respect of that. She sent him that little twirl down the bond that told him she'd been thinking of him happily and got a responding awww.

Ginny appeared at her side, "Can I steal some of Bill's clothes? Ralph got his all sandy."

"Of course, the green jumper should fit Ralph, pants will be short." She noted Ginny had already stolen some of her own, not bothering to ask.

"Want me to send up some hot tea?"

"Yes please, care if we put the egg in the crib and leave the dragon twins to guard it? He's suspicious someone will steal it and they're feeling shy." Ginny requested and Hermione tried not to notice Harry's eyes widen at Ginny's perfectly normal tones on discussing giant egg protection. This was her new normal.

"Not at all."

"Oh and he wants to know where you want your nest?"

"Nest?" Harry queried dumbly and she indicated she'd explain later. Ralph had built his mate what was in Hermione's opinion a bed on crack, Ginny barely slept but she did it in style with all sorts of cushions and blankets of every weight in a structure that slightly rocked. Hermione loved studying in it or going and sneaking a nap during her free period, so much so that she was getting her own made as a Christmas gift. Or maybe they were just sick of finding her curled up in theirs, she didn't care either way, she was getting the comfiest thing in the world and knew that both Bill and the baby were going to agree with her. "I think in the nursery will be best."

Ginny smiled before turning to go back upstairs and seemed stuck, she glanced up, Harry glancing up as well and blushing slightly. "Mistletoe."

"Damn Fred and George." Ginny muttered glancing up to see if her dragon was watching, but water was still running. "Get it over with Harry."

"Excellent, you hit one of the timed snogs. Enjoy! Only six sickles if you want them at your own holiday shindig, nine sickles for the hidden ones." Fred called and Hermione watched the kiss impatiently, watched as Harry got slightly more bold and pulled her closer, eyes flicking up even as she slipped her wand into her hand in case of a dragon reaction. He was watching, hands gripping the baluster, perhaps feeling through the bond Ginny said was rebuilding slowly, eyes upset, eyebrows resigned, mouth tightly determined. He moved away into a bedroom as it ended, Ginny looking at Harry before upwards and going pale. Trying to get to the stairs, still stuck, bellowing at her brothers to undo it.

"I'll get the tea and some snacks." Ron offered and headed off before Hermione could protest that maybe now wasn't the time for snacks as Fred told Ginny they hadn't hit the time limit, he gave her a reassuring smile and shooed at her.

Hermione moved over to Luna, Dean and Seamus to avoid the twins crowding over and Harry's confused face, a glance over her shoulder showed Cho had arrived and too had seen the first half of the kiss. "How are you liking Gringotts, Seamus?"

"It's excellent! I'm going to help a dig in Egypt next month. Dean thinks he'll take a post too, though the Quibbler offered him for drawing." Hermione gave him a genuine smile, all who had fought with the goblins had been offered Gringotts positions and Seamus was specializing in 'tomb opening', or as he liked to call it 'blowing things up really carefully'.

"Glad to hear it! Talk to Bill, he lived there for years. He'll know everyone you're working with, probably can help set you up with anything you need." She offered, she knew she was nesting and mothering one and all, but everyone seemed to be humoring her about it. She had a stray thought if the bright, fresh green scent she associated with Seamus would change to one of Eastern spices, the first smell she'd ever associated with her Bill.

Seamus headed immediately for the kitchen and Dean laughed, "How did the potions final for you two go? Get them all identified? Got lucky on my rigged potion."

Hermione nodded, "I think so, I had a hard time identifying the muggle substance, which is a bit embarrassing."

Dean smiled, "I got lucky, nail polish remover, and I've got sisters so I know the smell. What'd you have?"

"Coke, but my parents are dentists so I'd never had it." She sighed, thinking Snape's puzzle game of identifying six potions and one muggle liquid was clever, but hard, even if identifying the muggle substance was only worth an extra point.

Luna gave a dreamy sigh, "I think I bobbled two of the potions, but my muggle substance was beet juice. He seems… softened, doesn't he?"

Hermione paused in thought, he wasn't necessarily happier, but he seemed considerate towards his colleagues and there was less casual cruelty in his interactions with students. She'd thought back on her teeth growing incident repeatedly, wondering if it had been because he had a front to maintain, her closeness with Harry or something else. Harry was now very firmly one of his biggest advocates, which Hermione didn't necessarily agree with as for her, loving Harry's mother didn't erase anything he'd done, but she'd witnessed for him all the same. "I think a weight is off his shoulders. It can't have been easy being a double agent for twenty years."

Dean shrugged, "Who'd have thought he was half-blood? I mean out of all of the crazy stuff in the wizarding world, the fact that half bloods are the most prejudiced and oppressive still blows my mind."

"It's got to be hard to hate part of who you are." Hermione nodded, she'd always liked Dean, had shared countless bewildered glances with him and he'd never had a mean streak in him. They'd gotten a lot closer as friends during his time at Shell and being the only two Gryffindors who'd come back to finish school, feeling that urge to prove that they as muggleborns had a place in this world. She would never forget that off all the people in her year he was the only person before Ron and Harry to tell someone to stuff it when they were making fun of her, had dug a tissue out once and told her muggleborns stuck together. Of course, he'd been an eleven year old boy and immediately gotten uncomfortable and all but fled, it had still been sweet.

"Oooh, look! Fireworks!" Luna declared and Hermione realized just why the twins had been so noticeably absent as her beach exploded, her kitchen lit up and her tree started to sing carols and waltz with Lee Jordan. ….

January 5th, 1998

Bill's head was pounding by the time the liaison meeting was over, really wishing goblins accepted human work day standards and didn't think having twelve hour meetings was standard. George was pacing the hall. "Bill?"

"What are you doing here?" Bill asked in startled confusion, there was no reason for George to be down in the depths of the Ministry in his magenta robes, "What's wrong?"

George motioned him to fall into step and he did, George holding his silence until the goblins and officials were gone and they were in an upper corridor. His voice quiet and tight, "Ginny and Hermione have been arrested. They're in holding right now." He paused, "And it's all your fault, don't think Gin even wants to speak to you."

"What?" He asked desperately, 'Hermione's alright? She's okay? Not being-"

"She's furious with you, but she's fine." George turned a corner. "Were you even thinking when you signed the paperwork annulling everything between Ginny and Ralph? At all?"

Bill gave a vague gesture, that had just been a quick blip on his day. "Someone from the marriage and courtship office stopped me, said Ginny wasn't responding to their owls and they didn't know what our families' wishes were. It's not like they can be married now, or that they're courting. She's got enough on her plate without paperwork and people digging more into they're relationship." Bill told him in confusion, he was already worried about Ginny from what Hermione told him.

George was trying to be understanding, but still looked slightly pissed. "Ginny was his legal guardian, Bill, you undid that so he's now a ward of the Ministry-"

"That might not be a bad thing." Bill hedged, trying to imagine how mad Ginny and Charlie would be at that. "He could get specialized-"

George shook his head, "They've already deported him with the recommendation of isolation at a sanitorium, citing all the muggles they've had to do memory modifications on. Harry was on the escort team, so we'll know more of the situation when he gets back. Ginny is furious with him, Harry apparently had a heads up this was coming and didn't tell her."

"Oh bloody hell, that wasn't my intention at all. I, I-" Bill's stomach hardened in horror, this was not at all what he meant. This was what he got for signing papers without reading them, for just listening to people. Damn, he should have known better than that, did know better.

George just kept talking, "Ginny got arrested trying to stop him from being taken, Hermione got arrested trying to stop them taking Ginny. Hermione we should be able to bail out, she's only being charged with interference. Ginny less sure, Harry said they were charging her with eleven separate things."

"What's being done?" Oh bloody fuck, of all the things to royally screw up with good intentions this was what he'd done. His heavily pregnant wife was in jail, his sister was in jail and their dragon was gone, probably having a major meltdown. Hermione was going to kill him, was going to throw Crookshanks at him telling him to attack. Godric, she was going to go make him sleep in the cave for the rest of his life. What. An. Idiot.

"Ron is trying to speed up the processing paperwork so we can post bail, Mum's chasing Kingsley down in America for special pardons, Charlie is trying to file for guardianship for Ralph, but since he's not family will likely be rejected. Fred is going to go down to work with the Australian Ministry to try and file for Charlie there, hoping they're less strict, running off the fact they shared a cabin at the reserve. Said something about he thinks he can get them in under a common law partnership. Minerva and Remus are trying to get Ralph declared a protected denizen of Hogwarts and not subject to Ministry rule with a new charter, shove him in the same category as the centaurs and squid, but Charlie said even if they get all of the board's signatures it won't take effect until the first of the month when the Ministry does paperwork processing."

Bill quickly checked his wand with the security guard and all but ran, not bothering to wait for George. They at least had them in the same cell, "Are you alright, love?"

"I'm extremely mad at you, William Weasley. What were you thinking? Were you even thinking, you wretched goblin?" Hermione had at least been given a chair to sit on, he glanced over at Ginny and froze, she was just there in a swimsuit, swelling and bruising on her small frame evident.

He turned to the security guard, "Why the hell is my sister half naked?"

"That's what she was arrested in."

Ginny hadn't acknowledged him, was frantically issuing instructions at Fred through the bars. "No spoons, he'll get agitated and attack them. Write that down!"

"Spoons?" Fred asked in confusion while Hermione was nodding her agreement, glare heavily intact. According to her the Gryffindor table had been charmed so once Ralph sat all of the spoons became invisible halfway down after he'd gotten alarmed and grabbed Dean's porridge covered spoon, bent it up while roaring at him before completely freaking out upon realizing he was surrounded by spoons.

"Yes. Gringotts was terrible to their dragons and used to threaten to use spoons to scoop their eyeballs out. They did it to one dragon as an example, so all of the dragons get very irate at the sight of one. Don't let them put him in a room without windows, he prefers outside and - Fred can you even talk to him?"

Fred looked up from his very filled parchment, "It's got a lot of static. I don't have your brainwaves."

"Go change with Mum or Charlie! He'll want to know I'm alright or he'll get very upset, the last thing he saw was me fighting with them. He can't help it, tell them that, it's hardwired for him. Tell Mum to tell him that Luna's watching the egg. It's a dragon-"

Bill tuned Ginny's frantic instructions out, "Are you alright, love?"

Hermione was beyond furious with him, "Fix it. Immediately."

"I made a mistake, ok?" He tried to buffer, "I'll get you out then go and undo it."

Hermione was shaking her head at him, "You can't undo it, he's not-" Her voice dropped, "-considered rational. He can't consent to anything." Her voice became a mere whisper that he had to press his head against the bar, "I have to stay with Ginny, she's-"

Ginny was rabid, interrupting their conversation. "Get Hermione out and go directly to Nurmengard. Tom is related to him and can take guardianship."

"I don't know if they let prisoners-" Hermione started.

Ginny shook her head. "They do. Think about it, not like they won't be able to find the contact to make a medical decision."

He took a deep breath, his brain kicking back in. "Ginny, he's the worst possible choice. Even if he does that's leverage over you."

Ginny shook her head, "I don't care. Tell him I say yes if you have to."

Bill was absolutely not going to do any of that, he liked Ralph, had been friends with the bloke for years, but also knew that was the last thing he would have wanted. Ralph had been very clear in the letter he'd left for Bill, true he'd thought he was going to be dead, but there was to be no moping, no forced interactions with Lord Voldemort for Ginny. Ginny was to tuck him away in her memory to smile at on occasion and go on to have a nice normal life, presumably with Harry. He rubbed his face, he didn't have the right brainwaves to talk with Ralph, but Charlie was discreetly planning a relocation to a remote dragon reserve at his request. Ginny was a complete wreck, killing herself with guilt, barely bothering to show up in class and Ralph had realized she wasn't going to let him go. He took a breath, "Say yes to what, Ginny?"

"Does it matter?" She snapped it, hands clenching around the bars.

"Yes, Ginny. I'm not going to let you do anything dangerous or impulsive. I'm responsible for you, Gin and Lord Voldemort isn't the answer for anything." He tried to settle his baby sister, hating that she was standing there shivering with emotion.

"So responsible you let us court, didn't you? Did all of the paperwork knowing something was going to happen to him." She was at the edge of furious tears, bags under her eyes and worry all over her face.

Bill swallowed, it hadn't been an easy discussion with Ralph pre-acceptance of the courtship, trying to determine how to manage the situation. He'd wanted a bit of time with Ginny if she was willing, but didn't want to hurt her, thought courting was a way to meter and control it, a way that would slow any returning sentiments she had. "Ginny, I'm sorry. We thought it would be easier. Ralph will be fine, he'll be able to get specialized care and treatment."

She was completely furious, hands smashing to her hips, "That was my heart you were reckless with, my heart you don't want to deal with now. Godric, be a damn man with a spine or get out of my way."

"Ginny!" Hermione's outrage was immediate, rising from her chair as Bill reeled from her words.

"What? He's not perfect, Hermione. Thinks 'specialized care' bullshit is appropriate. If you felt that way why the hell didn't you drive Hermione straight to an institution when she showed up on your beach, not herself? He's head of the family and doesn't do shit for anyone other than you and the baby. When's the last time he ate a meal with Mum? He-"

"Gin, stop talking." Fred cut off. "You're upset and you'll regret it. Anything else I need to know?"

Bill felt a wash of affront rush over him, he hadn't been purposefully been not doing anything, but nobody had asked. The twins had settled back into running the shop and Charlie was at Hogwarts with Mum and Ginny, taking care of things there and now it looked like neglect. He hadn't gone for meals, busy with the goblins until odd hours or enjoying the few minutes he and Hermione got each night before bed, her accelerated study schedule complicating things. He wrote his mother, far more than he ever had in Egypt, and was on the receiving end she'd probably spent years on, just getting disjointed scrawls back stating she would write more later. He'd pretty much left Ginny's situation in Charlie's court until he'd opted for efficiency today and created a giant mess. He said the only thing that popped into his mind, "Ginny, it'll work out. You can go to the Ministry Ball with-" Hermione was giving him a very large no signal with her eyes. He turned, avoiding Ginny's darkening mood, "Can my wife be moved to St. Mungo's? It's not acceptable to put a woman in her last trimester in a situation as stressful as this without healer observation."

There was a blankness on the guard, Bill tried again, "Are you qualified to deliver a baby?"

He blanched and got moving, Hermione frowning at him, "Bring her books too and a set of robes for Ginny!"

At his confused glance as Fred moved down the hallway at a trot, Hermione gave a sigh. "Perv, he's been staring at her. They were swimming in the prefect's bathroom so Ginny didn't have her wands on her. I got involved when they were dragging Ginny through the Great Hall shrieking like a banshee."

"They hurt Ralph. Go talk to Tom, Bill." Ginny was still impatient and he held back on rolling his eyes, Ginny was obsessive over him being injured. Thought there was conspiracy efforts to hurt him and because he could only communicate with a few people Ginny was overprotective about everything.

He opened his mouth to tell her they hadn't hurt him, but Hermione stilled him, "Ginny, the darts only had sleeping draught on them. He'll be all healed up by now."

"You don't know that. They turned him into a pincushion." Ginny was wringing her hands, eyes huge and wet. "They wouldn't listen that I could explain it to him and would go with him, wouldn't go get Charlie or Professor Lupin. He was just trying to protect me, he was calm until they grabbed me."

Ron had showed up, voice clipped, "Statement says they thought he was a threat to you and that he was attacking you when they arrived, Gin. Why the hell are you still in that? You're shivering, that's mistreatment right there." Ron threw off his robe and shoved it through and Bill had the belated thought he should have given her his zip up ages ago.

"He wasn't attacking me! We were just playing in the water." Ginny was adamant, "It was completely obvious that I was a participant."

"Paperwork is complete, George you can post Hermione's bail, charges will end up getting thrown out anyway. Nobody's going to want the pig sty of charging a pregnant war hero on a disruption charge."

"Ginny?" Hermione asked anxiously.

Ron's face went through several contortions, "It's a sticky wicket. They went in full force, legally they had the right." He glanced at Ginny, "I think they'll drop most of the personal assault charges, probably the minor ones as well. The guy you bit is being really obstinate."

"He groped me." Ginny gave Ron her most stubborn face. "Bet he'll like it when that comes out, he can defend why he felt the need to physically restrain me, didn't just stun me like a normal person. That's why Ralph got so riled up, he did it right in front of my dragon." Hermione let out an outraged noise, her stomach growling and both he and Ron started to rummage for a snack.

Ron's voice going on, "Stunners weren't working on Ralph. Gin, you've got to calm down and be cooperative if you want to become eligible for bail. War fame or not you've been tagged as dangerous to the community. Major players from the war getting involved wasn't expected." Ron rubbed his face, "Now somehow Harry or I should have been on the force to take him."

"Who the bloody hell did they expect him to be with? They purposefully came when I wouldn't have my wands, when we'd be vulnerable during bath time." Ginny was furious. "We'd just been swimming our laps, not bothering a soul. I bet he's still all soapy, I'd started the bubbles. They better damn well have let him rinse off."

Hermione gave Bill a look and he tried, "I'm sure he's not just covered in bubbles, Gin. Nobody is going to mistreat him. Not with the field day the Prophet and international press is going to have over this." He took a breath while Ginny was waving her arm that clearly still had soap on it, "I'll go talk to Voldemort Ginny, but I'm not doing anything to endanger you. I want you to understand that, Ralph wouldn't want that either, dragon or man he wants you as far away as we can keep you."

Ginny was angrily pacing, clearly not listening to Ron's advice on calming down. "I told you to tell him yes if it comes to that."

Bill rubbed his face, "I'm not striking any deals with him, Gin, especially deals where I don't know the contents. What are you saying yes to?"

He got a glare in return, "You will or I'll exorcise my right to transfer to a prison from holding until trial and request Nurmengard over Azkaban."

Bill steadied himself, he hated when Ginny got like this, when the stubborn as could be part of her flared up. He glanced at Hermione, her eyes imploring him to fix this, to soften this debacle. Softness and coddling didn't work with Ginny, she'd been incredibly spoiled as a child and had pushed her luck until she hit the wall of ultimatums. "You'll do no such thing, because I will damn well leave you there until your trial. With zero updates on Ralph. You'll sit here and cooperate with the authorities or say nothing at all until we get you out."

He looked back at Hermione who still seemed displeased, "I"m going to go post your bail and I expect you to have it together by the time I'm back, Ginny."

He ignored her outrage as he went to find George and handle posting at least Hermione, seeing the photographers and writers from the Daily Prophet rushing down, still holding their takeaway boxes from dinner. The only saving grace there was the story would be spun their way, since the Malfoys and Robinsons had bought the paper out it was much more news focused and much less slander and gossip about their families. "Holly, would you mind sharing that food with Hermione? She's hungry and has to watch her sugars."

He almost collided with Charlie, "How's it going?"

Charlie looked furiously stressed, "No dice, hope Fred's having better luck. I was going to tell Gin, but if you're going I'll head to help Fred. They alright?"

"Ginny looks bruised up, not sure why she hasn't been healed, but she didn't have clothes either. Hermione is hungry, but fine." He said tightly.

"She refused treatment on Hermione's advice, that she should wait until her bruises could be photographed to show how rough they were with her. Though some of it is probably her own fault for flailing about so much." Charlie ran a hand down his face, "The staff was either helping with the annual check of the Forest or away at the international conference so we weren't there to calm the tides. By the time we could hear all of the screaming and commotion it was too late. Showed up just in time to see them arresting Hermione." He rubbed his face, "Bill, I'm sorry, they already had both of them restrained. Minerva is furious over the whole incident."

"So is Ginny, not sure she'll ever forgive me for it." Bill said tiredly, glancing around, of course the person he needed to post the bail with would be on a break.

Charlie didn't disagree, just clapped him on the back. "It'll work out. Alright I'm off, drop Minerva a line when you get them out or if you can't. She's got some aces up her sleeve she's willing to pull."

"Charlie…" He turned and Bill choked it out, "Have I left you out to dry? Ginny was saying-"

"Don't listen to Ginny right now. She can't think straight, she's off the rails. Started spitting into people's faces again." Charlie cut him off.

A laconic voice, "Another breakdown was building up, she was in immeasurable distress when brought to me by some of my house yesterday. You truly should consider putting her in St. Mungo's."

"Severus, what are you doing here?" Charlie glanced around looking for more people as Bill shook his head. Poppy had checked Ginny out multiple times when her dragon dragged her to the hospital wing, she'd refused treatment and Ralph couldn't explain what he thought was wrong with her.

"Minerva asked me to offer my assistance as you're leaving the country." He gave Bill a slight nod, "I'll also be handling your Head of House duties while you are away."

Charlie looked momentarily bristled then shrugged, letting it go. "I've got seven detentions at the moment, they should know what to do or if Argus needs them he can have em. Three are courting and need access to a chaperone, according to Lady Violet duel watch needs to instituted as Miss Vane's multiple admirers are starting to get suspicious they are not the sole object of her affection."

"Thrilling."

Bill was impatient, "I've got to go talk to Voldemort, any tips?"

"He gives nothing for free." Severus paused, thinking, "I'm willing to offer my assistance in the discussion. I'm quite familiar with his patterns of manipulation."

He nodded his thanks and thirty minutes later, assured that Hermione was safely in the care of George and Angelina he found himself entering a visiting room he was fairly certain they really shouldn't be in, given the place had been closed and locked. Severus pulled up his sleeve and pressed his wand to the Dark Mark and they waited.

He came out looking agitated at being awoken, but paused at seeing his company. Severus indicated he sit, "There was an incident today involving Ginevra. She is shaken from it."

"Was it that dragon man?" It was said with the upmost disgust. "I read about the incident in the paper, her pet is very uncontrolled."

"No, Mr. Robinson had to be neutralized after they tried to remove Ginevra from the pool. The report states he took several arrows and darts of potion before succumbing." Snape stated calmly, not at all bothered by the fact he was describing how someone became a pincushion.

"Good, I hope he breathes his last breath." Lord Voldemort was vindictively pleased with this prospect. Bill was just keeping his mouth shut, he had no clue if Ralph liked being a dragon or not, but he sure didn't want him to die.

"Ginevra would like a favor." Severus went on, ignoring the outburst and Bill wondered how much he'd put up with over the years. "She would like you to claim magical guardianship of Mr. Robinson. She is concerned for his care and well being since Mr. Weasley here broke all connections between them."

Lord Voldemort looked thoughtful, then angrily at Bill. "You were a dreadful chaperone. Allowing him to see her with her hair down and to spy her pretty shoulders, you should thank me for ensuring her safety."

"What? Ensure her safety?" Real elegant, Bill. All of the girls were wearing those dresses without straps, he loved when Hermione did. He didn't think he and Charlie had been bad chaperones, sure they'd chaperoned mainly on trust, but Percy hadn't and Hermione didn't trust Ginny so she peeked.

"I set a personally keyed chastity charm on my wife for her protection. I fear that her beauty will tempt the lower echelons of society." He folded his hands and Bill scratched his chin, that meant at least two people had chastity belted Ginny. "A disgusting muggle made an attempt by following her in London, but was neutralized by the guards I'd set."

"It was very prudent to have her watched." Severus agreed and Bill tried not to give him a what the hell look, no need to feed the crazy or normalize that this monster had his sister watched and followed for weeks.

"Gin will be pissed." He managed to shut his mouth on telling him to stop this wife nonsense at a glare from Severus. Charlie would be pleased though, Ginny currently thought he was running a conspiracy ring targeted at interrupting any time she and her dragon were on their way to amorous activities, according to Hermione Ginny was extremely bitter about it.

"Her eyes sparkle when she is enraged. It's delightfully fearsome."

"Back to Mr. Robinson." Severus interrupted. "Ginevra trusts you to be a partner and consult with her on any healthcare decisions."

"I don't want the hassle of paperwork." Lord Voldemort crossed his arms. "Leave it be, out of sight, out of mind. She needn't be bothering with it anyway, just her sense of obligation and kind heart."

Bill sighed, knowing Gin was going to be pissed at this. "My wife just made Ginny a new study schedule for the NEWTs with time built in for visitation at her request since the Headmistress was going to grant special permission. In hopes to get Ginny more back to normal." Lord Voldemort gave what he supposed was a delighted smile, but looked more like a grimace. Sure they'd been trying to undo some of the magical transformations he'd made in hopes of rehabilitating him and studying what he'd done to himself, Bill had been involved in one, but he still looked weird even with a normal nose.

"Severus would you concur that she'll likely use that time to visit Ralph, given his state? At the most draconic level, everything he does is for her and the protection of potential eggs, she won't disregard that need for him. Even now she takes it into heavy consideration." Bill leaned back and settled in, watching the anger pass over Lord Voldemort's face as he thought.

"I concur, William. She'll probably have one of his pet dwarf dragons with her at all times now. I prefer when they are not in my classroom." Severus drawled. "I do not find them 'playful' or 'cute' as so many of my colleagues do."

"If I bring it here, she would come visit me." He was plotting, looking pleased. Bill internally winced, not at all what they were aiming for and Ralph would hate the tower, probably spend most of his time trying to kill Voldemort.

He shared a glance with Severus, "I believe she would focus her visits on him, I personally couldn't watch my wife showering affection on someone else."

"That's because you're an abomination." It was snapped and Bill ignored it, watching the words sink in, could tell he was thinking of what that would be like, frowning. "He would be frequently indisposed to visitors. She is affectionate with it? What kinds of affection are you implying?"

He glanced over to Severus, Bill, not being at Hogwarts, was unfamiliar with their routine. "They share living quarters and Miss Weasley has been reprimanded on more than one occasion for cutting class to spend time frolicking with him. Charles recently gave her detention for it after she derailed a lesson and overexcited the dragons nesting by the lake."

He was thinking, tapping his fingers on his side of the barrier. "I would like to see more of her, but wouldn't stand to see her affection given to another, or not have her full attention. I don't want a pet, but I don't want it sharing her living quarters. It's uncouth. Severus, what are your thoughts?"

Severus tapped his own fingers, "You could always take guardianship and appoint a handler. Charles Weasley, or Rolf Scamander to handle the day to day care. I'm sure Ginevra would be very thankful for your caring oversight, would come to discuss your decisions." There was a pause and it dragged as he thought, Severus quietly adding, "It would allow her more time to study for her NEWTs, I confess she is behind her fellow students."

"Ginevra is behind?" He sounded appalled, "She's been so diligent about coming to the trials to support me, she must be missing quite a bit of class."

Bill wanted whatever potions they had him on, because Ginny sure as hell wasn't sitting in trials to support him. The fact that she was only there because he'd given written confessions to her and she had to testify about them seemed to be wildly misconstrued in this case. As far as Bill knew security escorted her, she read whatever he'd written her and was taken back to school. Ron griped fairly often about how boring trial assignments were, just a lot of sitting in hallways and passing people handkerchiefs. "Hermione keeps trying to get her to catch up, but is focused on taking her own NEWTs early in advance of our child's birth."

He looked thoughtful then extremely angry, "That is another thing you and I need to discuss Mr. Weasley, we can when you bring her to make her request in person. You are no longer needed in her decision making, as her husband that is between us, you have no right to ban her from discussions on expanding our family." Oh bloody hell, Ginny, you've been throwing me under the bus, haven't you? Just probably using me as the scapegoat to get out of having to handle his crazy. Is that what you're saying yes to? Talking about children with this monster? Talking about taking tap dance lessons with him? He was going to break into Hogwarts and read their correspondences before he went home tonight.

Severus seemed to sense that this was news to him and stepped in to allow Bill a moment to regain his composure. "I believe you mentioned she wanted to complete school before thinking on the subject."

Voldemort nodded, "Yes, but there is a role of reviewing my letters before they're allowed to be sent that I would like Ginevra consider. She would work here and would be able to bring our son with her, even if the motion for us to share quarters is denied given my current incarceration so we would still have time as a family."

Bill didn't know what to say, he felt vaguely like he wanted to be sick at the thought of it. Mentally cursing for the hundredth time that their efforts to make him forget about Ginny, or soften his feelings were all nullified because he still carried her in his unstable, fractured soul. Voldemort seemed very pleased with his plan, with this little fantasy he'd cooked up in his head to look forward to, still rambling on. "She made a fetching little joke that we'd have to name him Harry. Surprisingly, I'm not terribly opposed to it, he has been a large factor in my life and did prevent me from accidentally killing my sweet Ginevra after Lucius tremendous mistake of giving her the diary. If only I'd realized sooner, I would have killed Draco to punish him."

"Well, this has been a nice chat." Bill cut in, not wanting to hear this. "Need to get back to check on Ginny, I'll-" He glanced at Severus, "-see if she is up to visiting tomorrow to discuss her favor."

There was a nod, "Please ask her to wear green and let her know I hope she is not too shaken."

Bill nodded and left, waiting for Severus to say his goodbyes before exploding once they were outside, "What the hell was that? He's mental."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "As the horcruxes were destroyed and Ginny gained prominence in his soul, he also became more erratically unhinged, blaming his behavior at the time on the aggravation that Harry Potter kept refusing to be killed. I confess, his grip on reality had not been strong before, to feel the need to create the world he thought we should all live in."

It said so much more to Bill about the turncoat potions master's motivations, that he too must have been deeply unhappy in the world he lived in to want to follow his master into a darker one.

* * *

A/N: Review, weigh in on sequel or epilogue debate, get excited for baby time.

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	34. Strange Bedfellows

A/N: Love the new readers and reviews, I do want to apologize. I thought this chapter went up weeks ago and came to post the fluff and saw nooooo it wasn't. It's a long one, we've got some interesting groups teaming up, it also sets the stage for the drastically shorter sequel. The true epilogues written I'm debating posting separately for those not interested in the sequel, or just here with disclaimers there is an intervening story. Also, the prequel to this 'A Drop in the Ocean' about little Hermione and big Bill is now complete and we've got some people having Love Potion mishaps.

Strange Bedfellows

* * *

7 January 1999, Sydney, Australia

Ginny got off the plane, still very determined, but very tired and now a touch unsure of just how she was going to get her dragon back. She'd finally gotten released, they had kept her wands and banned her from leaving the country. So she nicked Angelina's wand, went to the bathroom and twisted to the airport, used her handy charm bracelet passport and money card to book herself a ticket and got out of the country before they could stop her. What she did not expect was to see Mr. Robinson and Cho Chang standing at the arrival gate ready to abscond her.

Mr. Robinson grabbed her into a hug, a very affectionate one, voice low near her ear. "Y'alright? Need the photo so he'll know you're here. We'll explain in the car."

She looked up at him in both excitement and confusion as he took her large duty free shopping bag and slipped an arm around her waist, keeping it there, shifting her hand to show off her ring as they left the airport and cameras started going off, the telltale magical click telling her it wasn't just muggle. He made a big show of rushing her, looking around and trying to hide the fact he was tucking her into the backseat and for the first time since everything had happened Ginny wanted to laugh. He was so like Ralph in his mannerisms, so similar to when she'd seen Ralph being Charlie's mischief distraction. The unmistakable mix of pretending everything is normal while giving off the anxious vibe that you are up to no good, distracting Mum's attention onto himself enough so the prank could go off as planned. He was doing the weird pinky twitch Ralph had and she just wanted to scream, where is he?

As soon as the doors were shut, she bit in. "How is he?"

Mr. Robinson was taut, "Missing."

Cho was more explanatory, "The nuns were afraid of him that with all the potions and confusion he might become violent. Had him restrained when Harry went in to help, saying seeing a familiar face would be soothing."

Ginny's heart was in her throat and racing rapidly in her chest all at once. "And?-"

Cho gave her a secretive smile, "Harry said he had told him he needed the fresh air, opened the window and offered to help get him washed up and into more comfortable restraints, that Ralph kept telling Harry he was calm, but feeling modest. So could the nuns step out? As soon as most of the bed restraints were off he kicked Harry in the chest and used him as a spring board to get out the window and bolt. Only know because I took a bad fall in the expo game here and wound up at the same hospital only to find out my emergency contact was three rooms down."

Ginny wrapped her arms around herself, shaking in horror, then what the Ravenclaw was trying to say clicked, Harry didn't have the brain to be able to talk to Ralph. Harry had given him the opportunity to get away on purpose, had likely seen what they were trying to do to her dragon and intervened, because he was well, Harry. She'd sat on that plane for hours, piling anger up at him for not telling her this had been discussed at the Ministry and massive amounts of fear for Ralph. She hugged Cho impulsively, a sudden thought that Ralph was a lot stronger than Harry and if confused, probably kicked him as hard as he could. "Is Harry alright? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Harry's getting there, they've got his ribs all fixed up and he'll just be a bit sore for a few days. He's got to stay with the nuns though, they want to watch how his punctured lung heals." Cho informed her, eyeing closely to see if she understood and she nodded. Cho went on, "We're hoping to find him before the Ministry. They can't figure out how he got away so fast."

"Ministry?" An angry scoff. "Found the largest amount of little fools they could and gave them matching robes. You should have seen them just smashing about looking frantically, covering any tracks he would have made." Mr. Robinson added, "Best plan they have is to portkey you here and use you as bait."

"Thank you for coming to help, Cho." They'd become quite close during their courtship group once the jealously over Harry was gone, but she had no idea how these two strange bedfellows had stumbled across each other and just decided Charlie had probably done it. She was very thankful at the timing that Mr. Robinson had been down here visiting.

Cho gave her a slightly sad look, part determined, mainly wet and tucked her hair back, swallowing it down. "My older sister would have wanted me to, she was very sweet on him in school."

Ginny nodded, an old letter drifting to mind. "Think he liked her back, tell you later." Another thought struck, Cho too might be using her as a screen, for she was very sweet on Harry and Ginny knew she'd been a sticking point in the advancement of their non dating. Had gotten an awkward letter about it from her, asking if anything was going on after Cho found a letter Ralph had written Harry pre dragon days. Then she got down to business, "So what's the current plan? I've got plans too."

"Charlie thinks he'll run to a dragon reserve, so he's checking them and putting out coms for the dragons to watch for him. I'll check places Ralph's familiar with from growing up. Truly, I'm hoping he'll just run to family and since I'm refusing to tell your Ministry where they live, he should be fine. They're real hot under the collar about it, but can't arrest muggles so any communication with them goes through me or Elena once she lands later. Ginny for Ralph's sake, do me a favor? The two of you can't just rile each other up at the injustice, won't do any good and I'm only used to handling one furious woman at a time. She's ticked enough for the both of you, all of England and every dragon that has ever lived or will ever live."

Cho tried to hide her giggle, hand over her mouth hair flinging forward, finding the pleading request a bit funny. Ginny's mind was whirring, horrible images of them grabbing him from the pool pincushioned, water red. "Understood. Did they at least heal him? He was all bloody and-"

"-Yes, he's fine. Still best if we catch him," Mr. Robinson cut in, "Your little fall down spells don't work on him and I'd prefer him not to be skewered again. Hopefully we can calm him down with people he recognizes, if we can't and it's fighting the runt wants, best if it's with someone his own size after what he did to Cho's bloke. Cho give her one of the tasers, it's a muggle stunner, Ginny, just will zap him a bit."

Perhaps it was the lack of sleep between getting arrested and an extremely long plane ride, but she found it hilarious that someone was referring to her head above everyone else dragon as a runt, even though he was in his family. She tried to choke down the giggle, Cho gave her a strange look, shoved water at her and she struggled for calm, "I should probably tell someone I'm here."

"They know, the card company called Elena, which is why we knew to get you." Mr. Robinson gave her a sternly exasperated look in the rearview mirror that was the same as she'd seen him give Ralph what seemed like a lifetime ago. The quiet whispers of a time of when her heart had been racing in exhilaration as she went to let Ralph in only to find his father was awake and her Rob was going to be on the receiving end of that look with an aggravated comment, 'Dammit Ralph, why did I have to memorize your complicated wizard dating rules if you're just going to break them?' and her sweet suitor would hold up the movie tapes and pizza in response, 'Breaking the rules is half the fun of courting and she still feels like she's being watched, can't sleep because she's starving. I'm supposed to feed her off my lands, so really, I'm being a good proper suitor rescuing her. If you don't tell, I'll let you have some of her pizza.' She'd almost called out then, that no, it was all hers, because she was going to eat her hand. Another smile, 'Your Mum is trying to make us eat like rabbits on her diet for the new role. Oh hell, I remember that stage of dating. Broke team rules constantly and made a fool of myself to get to see your Mum for even ten minutes.' It had been a nice night, she'd crouched listening in on a very honest father son conversation on girls and fallen very much more in love with her suitor, turned to find Mrs. Robinson too was listening higher up on the stairs, sappily smiling too.

It was the pain that pulled her back into reality, gut wrenching and swift, sharp stabs of sheer aloneness ripping at her. She didn't cry out, she was past that as the memory of his arm warm around her laughing as she tried to devour her smuggled pizza faster than anyone else was blasted from her. Once she had been more, had felt Ralph for a few hours as if he was an extension of herself and it was regrowing, but from time to time it was this. It was hearing him smash into the ground and be ripped away all over again, it was her soul being yanked and torn as Tom shredded it. There was the Cruciatus Curse and then there was this. This was worse. There was no comparison between body and soul, she clung to the knowledge she wasn't the only one feeling it, that somewhere he too was reliving the moment Charlie had so many times warned him of and hoped he was safe enough to pause and handle it.

She answered Cho's repeated inquiry of if she was alright when she could speak again, trying for light, "Sorry I zoned out. Just a long flight. Planes scare me, but I was banned from leaving the country so no portkeys for me."

"Ginny, a serious question?" Mr. Robinson asked, flicking the blinker, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Anything we need to worry about with Ralph regarding your safety or precautions we need to take, due to um, timing?"

She didn't particularly want to discuss her ovulation cycle with his dad, but understood why it was asked, if somebody had bothered to tell her she had a chastity belt none of it would have happened. Hell, this was the man who spent a lot of money to buy the Daily Prophet over their horrid foray and rampant speculation about just went wrong the night of Ralph's tantrum. They wouldn't drop it, they wouldn't let it go, demanded to know why he was allowed to stay when he'd put a student in the hospital wing, destroyed school property, set off dragon incidents at three reserves, why the Board of Directors inquiry was sealed. "I'll need to check the schedule, but he's truly fine. It was a one time incident and Charlie's got him under quite a few um, mating restrictions. His self control is much better and he knows there is no egg making right now with him or anyone else, he'll just want to stay close to keep boys away anyway."

Ginny knew she wasn't who she was before, just as Ralph wasn't, just as Tom was now a lunatic with almost everyone but her, still sometimes with her too. They explained away her changed behavior on a traumatic brain injury either from the centaurs or Tom's assault, just the same with why it took Ralph's fine motor skills so long to come back after such a bad fall and smashing impact. She let them, because she was terrified if they latched onto the idea she was in botched bondings they would try and fix it by taking him away from her. Even more terrified now that Bill had shown he was going to take away her decisions and blunder everything up. He was who she'd been planning on going to once she had her research on bondings done, who she was going to ask for help, but Bill could no longer be trusted.

She knew it had to be odd from the outside looking in and she didn't like having to justify it to people who could never understand what it was like to be pulled in two directions, to need to see someone who'd destroyed everything, while being completely obsessive over her dragon. She missed the words with Ralph, the quick quips back and forth, but at least syncing had the images with feelings. In some ways it was a more pure form of communication, because there was no misinterpretation possible, even if the Ministry said he couldn't talk and roaring was rude so he had to go away. She knew they thought he wasn't rational now because he wasn't reading or writing, he just thought putting information on something so flammable was very risky business and images were way better than letters. They wouldn't even let her give them his notebook so he could draw any questions, they just wanted to get rid of him, to have one less problem. What mattered was she was going to find him, explain to him what was happening and make sure they never got their hands on him again.

She settled into trying to very clearly understand the detailed plan, to find Mr. Robinson was a bit skeptical of Cho's assertions that yes, she could use a phone. "Can you leave a voicemail? Ginny struggled with that and you might have to."

Cho looked sheepish and Ginny gave her an encouraging smile, "Harry says it's not a place to just call and leave him lists or tell him jokes, that it doesn't go directly to his brain, he has to listen to all of them."

For the first time she realized they were both wearing matching t-shirts, emblazoned with The Burrow 1999 Reunion Tour, she cut off anything Mr. Robinson was going to say. "Why are you wearing that?"

"Because Ralph and Charlie created a massive frenzy when they had the band. So it'll stir up a whole bunch of fake sightings, what Fred's doing with Ralph's brother since they look enough alike to keep your Ministry folk on a mongoose chase." She cringed for her dragon, Charlie loved getting recognized for his brief foray into muggle alternative rock stardom and Ralph hated it. "You're the new lead singer, by the way. Cho's your press person. How good did you actually get at guitar? I know Ralph was trying to teach you."

"Can't we just use my plan?" She asked desperately, she liked singing, but she did not want this. She shoved over her notes at Cho. "You know I did enough damage by creating Angus the Bloody, but I've got more than one dragon now. Lots more."

There was a pause and they exchanged glances. "Cho? How bad is it? Charlie said it was going to be bad, probably real bad."

Cho's wand waved and she felt spells hit her. "Operation Dragon Queen is basically if they don't agree to call off the search and make unbreakable vows to never attack him again, Ginny is going to raise her dragon army and surround the Ministries, magical and muggle. Then it goes into a detailed plan of how she's going to take over Greenland and the Caymans simultaneously to prove her point." Pause, "Are you insane?"

No, she wasn't, but she was scared for her darling dragon, extremely angry and the combination of free wine on the scary plane and too much time in Tom's head had interesting results. If they wanted to use a power move and take him away, she'd use a bigger, more toothy one and the man next to her on the flight told her he'd gotten to drink out of a coconut in the tropics, which with the calming wine became her new life goal. She kept it together during the turbulence, because she imagined she and Ralph would sit nested together on a beach and get to have coconuts with fancy straws in them. "That's plan B, plan A was just to break him out and hide him, get some paperwork forged to contradict Bill's massive fuck up. Cho make a note that he's to be banished to the goblins or Greenland." She dug out another piece of a paper, dates and incidents, arthimancy equations beside them and all over the back, "Look, someone was telling courting Ginny and Ralph to just go to Gretna Green in a variety of ways, but I'm an idiot who didn't figure it out, just thought I was dreaming girlishly not Seeing."

"Cho? Extra measures, I think." Mr. Robinson said, giving her a glance as he pulled over, "Also, if there's a spell that means she can't drive, do that too. This is a rental Ginny, don't try and steal it. Cho, can you drive?"

"Just flying for me." Cho smacked her with a few more spells and looked flummoxed as she thought about the driving spell. Ginny tried to twist and found she couldn't.

Mr. Robinson went on, "You have to do the band, Charlie's plan, they have a longer version of the Dragon King Ballad down here about his time in exile, something about when Dragon Queen sings she will have the return of her Dragon King. In the bag, think I wrote it down right. Ginny, did you eat anything on the plane?"

An abrupt u-turn was flipped not waiting for her answer and she thought Cho needed to take away his ability to drive too as she smashed into the window. "Bet he ran directly to the restaurant. Cho, make a note all statements will be given from Chen's on 36th street."

"That sounds Chinese-" Cho started to be cut off while Ginny was trying to see just how fast he was driving.

"I'm Chinese, Cho, well not physically, but my Mum will sass the hell out of you girls if you say otherwise. Got dropped off at our family's restaurant as a baby with a little note explaining that they gave her lots of free soup so were probably going to be kind enough to make sure her baby too was alright. Ginny, did Ralph teach you any Mandarin? She'd wanted him to bring you down here, make you work in the restaurant a bit and propose there as it is the most fortunate place on earth for Robinson men."

"Merlin, does he speak Mandarin?" Cho all but screamed it and at their nods started uncontrollably laughing.

Ginny wasn't sure what was going on, so just answered the question. "No, he was teaching me to use chopsticks though, since I'd never used them before. Too many of us growing up to go out to dinner or have takeaway like he liked when he had a late night at work. Cho, you alright?"

She had settled, but was still shaking her head. "Sorry about that. My first year, my sister was quidditch captain and because everyone had been stealing playbooks and were going to be docked massive amounts of points it was agreed all captains would turn over five accurate play descriptions to all houses. Language was not specified in the cease fire and she was furious her clever delivery in Mandarin didn't seem to affect their match with Gryffindor. No wonder he was always at the next library table next to us, he was a spy listening in."

This amused all of them, the woman stalking towards them cheering her even more, for yes, her dragon had been here, broken the back lock, according to the translation Cho was giving her out of the side of her mouth. While he either ate or stole all food pre prepared for today's business, he was no longer starving and seeing the dishes he'd washed on the drying rack made her want to cry in relief. She went to the bathroom to compose herself and send patrons after patronus off to tell him she was here, she loved him and it was safe to come back. Returned to find she and Cho were set to stake out there, expected to eat everything her new grandmother put in front of them and be judged on whether or not she was quite worthy for her grandson, dragon or not.

* * *

"How's she doing?" Charlie called down the line, for a long pause and a muffled, 'Cho, stop just making faces, he can't see you like in the fire. Just give me the phone, say something or at least put it on speaker so I can hear.'

"She's much the same, got her to eat a bit more today." Cho screamed, clearly not relinquishing the phone, voice dropping at being told that wasn't speaker phone and a button being smashed, Ryan Robinson's voice, "Any luck?"

Well that was news at least, "Had a valid sighting near Perth, found what we think is where he was sheltering, but he's gone. Damn dragon is clever, just evaded us, fire soaked, but built the Romanian reserve way. So tell Ginny he's fine, he's likely got help, we know that, he's just not wanting to be caught. Left him a sign that it was me in case he goes back, doubt he will, but he knows I'm looking."

He could hear Ginny being told in the background, Ginny repeating it at her egg. That wasn't precociously true, Charlie was starting to suspect their missing dragon wasn't so much being helped, but being held captive. Those fires had been from the Romanian reserve alright, but they'd been signal fires, not ones built for cooking. Cho's voice coming back on, "You'll be back for band practice and the staged fight? Got the schedule I sent?"

"Yeah. Full time pretty much." Charlie sighed, not super thrilled, but he couldn't really do more reserve wise. They weren't going to give him up, knew to send him word and he'd put trusted captains in place. Charlie just wanted to know who the hell was helping him or holding him, he doubted Ralph waltzed into a store and bought his own custard cups. "How'd the demo come out?"

"Excellent, they think Ralph's voice just grew up and he put on a few inches since you lot were teens, nobody has caught on it's not him. Ginny is very intense on it and the peoples loved the crooning harmony. Original, unique, ground breaking, dedication to theme, blah blah. The press releases look good, the hype is there. Elena said it'll start playing airwaves tomorrow, since we're not asking for cost to play or something. I didn't pay attention to that part, but you're co-owner in Dragon Army Records and I polyjuiced to forge your signature, muggles can't tell these things even though I was terrible at your voice. Like the name? I came up with, sort of like a nod to the DA." Charlie had the fleeting thought that Cho Chang should probably not be a main muggle liaison, but their troops were limited to a small amount of trusted folk and you couldn't say she wasn't enthusiastic. She was being assured that it hadn't been that bad and he had the fleeting thought that Harry might be in trouble for Cho had developed what appeared quite the softness for their decoy Ralph, who was still in quest for his lifetime goal of a magical girlfriend. Bit of a bummer, for Charlie found himself rather intrigued by Ginny's captor.

"Love it." He rubbed his face, "Ginny get any sleep?"

"No. Says she can't sleep without him, she either fusses over her egg or I hear her writing at the desk. We even tried letting her curl against pretend Ralph." Cho did not like this, sounded very displeased at her charge for her sleep failures.

"C'mon, Cho, you can use my actual name." It was teasingly said. "You won't mess up in public. No dice, Charlie, she fell asleep for a little while, but is the squirmiest little thing. Right, Ginny?" Charlie disagreed, it had not been a horrible idea. He and Ginny had both decided he smelled like Ralph, was built like Ralph and if she couldn't sleep without being latched onto someone, it was worth a shot as she'd fallen asleep against his shoulder in the car.

"It was alright until after I woke up and realized I just had pretend Ralph, but thanks for giving me a good morning peck. Charlie, Mum went home. George got blown up a little bit, he's at St. Mungo's." Ginny was coming closer to the phone.

"What? He alright?" Charlie asked in confusion.

"He'll be fine, they think it was a testing accident and George just couldn't hear that it was about to go off. Fred says he can't test any of the weapon stuff anymore. Aurors are investigating anyway, because a window had been broken in the workroom from the outside. Ron's first lead job! He's excited and sent a nice congratulatory card for the egg." Ginny sounded nice and normal, a very welcome change from her vacillations between being manic or a tear streaked mess. Their troops were armed with calming draughts and calm down shot needles to prevent more public meltdowns.

"Alright. How's the new egg? Need me to pick extra blankets?" Charlie asked, rubbing his face again, Ginny had gone off the deep end, dragged Cho and muggle Mum into her insanity. Cho at least realized it was nonsense, but had told Charlie helping Ginny tuck up a nest for her egg was preferable to stopping her from raising an army. Not many a girl could play professional seeker or decide that because Ginny was convinced Ralph would come if she had another egg to give him, they were getting an egg. Just borrow his broom and ride double so Ginny could snatch a tiny egg that had been put out of a nest on the Reserve when Ginny went to rally the dragons. Give him a rapid windswept explanation that she could outfly Harry and Harry had outflown a dragon, so logically it was a foregone conclusion. He'd decided Cho was a bit insane and very kind, but Charlie liked extremes, a bit of a throw yourself all in person himself.

"We're doing well, sent a few patronuses to Ralph telling him we have another dragon on the way, but I'm concerned about our little egg and that I want him to come check it. I know you say he's trying to let me go, but he loves our clutch." Ginny informed him, sounding very hopeful. "Did you see the new music I've been writing? Cho's in the band now, she redid the piano part you did for the demo."

"Cool. Looks great, needs a bit of editing, because we're toeing the line of the Statue of Secrecy already. Let me do some graffiti and I'll see you lot later."

He hung up, left the phone booth, threw the bag back over his shoulder and headed over to the motorcycle he'd been using to get around the brush and went to try and leave a message on a billboard. He had one more place to check in the brush, hoping he'd fled there. He'd had a blunt conversation with Ginny that chances were Ralph had no plan of coming back, was truly trying to let Ginny move on and hoped that he wasn't quite over her being in heat yet. She wasn't doing well and it was becoming painfully obvious it was more than just stress induced hysteria, there was something wrong with her magic. She hadn't even been able to dry her own hair with a simple spell, her magic was going or blocked somehow. He truly hoped the prophecy was not wrong, he would hear her sing and come, but he was oracular enough to know that prophecies were rarely what they seemed and very often sent things off into spirals nobody quite meant to happen.

* * *

7 February, 1999 Hogwarts

Hermione was trying to escape them, she knew they were there, the little invisible goblins that followed her everywhere as of this week. She couldn't study with them staring at her and was fairly convinced it was the one she didn't like today. When she'd confronted Bill about it, he'd said he hadn't thought she would mind and there was nothing wrong with giving her extra security given the threat they'd gotten. She was still waiting for him to apologize, but so close to the moon wasn't going to hold her breath, for now she turned her way into the Nest. She didn't think they could get in, not if she didn't want them to. It was a curious thing, the sudden appearance of the sitting room to Ralph and Ginny's quarters and several others around the castle, as if Hogwarts was trying to spore off more Rooms of Requirement. This one had rapidly become sort of a central common room for the older students, especially for those who didn't keep quarters at the school or had fought in the battle and found their common rooms a bit tough to spend time in now. She peeked, wondering how rowdy it would be and just found Dean reading, two Ravenclaws from Ginny's year at a table and Ralph very softly playing guitar at the eggs. She entered and all but slammed the door shut, settling at one of the cozy tables and began pulling out her books, finding the quiet music stopped. "Ralph, it's okay. It won't bother me and I can always do a silencing charm."

He shrugged glanced upwards to see if he could go outside, but it was still snowing and settled himself down to sketch something. She tried to tune into study and again got distracted, Ginny's confused voice carrying through the door. "Fred? Didn't you get my message?"

"Yeah, yeah. Mum dropped it when she brought the dress Hermione picked to the flat so Bill wouldn't stumble across it." There was a pause and she started to tune out, Fred's voice taking on a very sympathetic softness. "Ginny, I'm so sorry."

Ginny's response was mumbled against a chest and she tuned in, a glance showing both Ralph and Dean were also listening. "I wanted to drop off the note Muriel had pinned in it for you. She bought it for you when we went back in time, assumed since it hadn't been there in the current time she'd done it. She'd gotten fed up that you'd stared at it so much and once you started courting still refused to try it on because of the cost. She felt awful for the dress you had to wear to the Yule ball and sort of ranted about the damn Weasley pride." Fred got choked, "She wanted it to be your something new on your wedding day, start a new journey." He strengthened trying to joke, "She was real sentimental and said if Angelina can learn to walk in ankle ribbons to hide those skinny ankles, she can wear her diamond tiara."

Ginny too was choked, "That's our Muriel. Fred, I don't know.. I don't know if I can read it."

Hermione's stomach dropped and she looked at her hands, trying to shove away the thought. They'd been helping sort out Muriel's when they'd stumbled across it, tucked away in her closet and Hermione had fallen instantly in love with the cream dress, just full enough to satisfy her childhood fantasies with an elegant cut that Ginny had assured her could have panels added if her figure didn't rebound quickly. The color a soft shade perfect for a wedding representing love already grown, not the stark white of the sundress she had worn when they hand fasted. When she asked when Muriel wore it, had been told cream had often been the color of the ball season. Looking back it was a goblin style evasive answer from Mrs. Weasley, true enough to the phrasing of the question, but not the intent of it. She'd tucked awkwardly into it, her Mum and had teared up, called her father in and his expression instantly cemented the decision. His soft words that he didn't want to give her away, but he thought he'd had enough practice with passing her off to the magical world, he'd likely survive doing it again creating quite the emotion in her. Ginny's voice was slightly bittersweet, "Don't feel bad, Fred. It'd be a travesty if it didn't get worn and Muriel adored Bill and Hermione as a couple, waxed on about it when I was still with her all the time. There's nobody I'd rather see wear that dress than Hermione."

Except yourself and Hermione felt a terrible flux of emotions. She couldn't wear it now, but felt almost obligated to, would insult Ginny, Muriel's kind act and Mrs. Weasley if she didn't. If she confessed to knowing why, she'd be protested and slammed down, but how was Ginny going to feel standing next to her? Holding a bouquet seeing a representation of a future she'd been so excited for. She didn't have time to compose her thoughts or her expression as the door opened, Ginny giving them all a confused glance before settling across her dragon. "What's got you lot in a tuffet? You alright, Hermione?"

Dean gave her a panicked look, his voice squeaky. "Just the charms exam."

She shrugged, "If you're not up to it, Hermione, just tell Flitwick. He's real nice, won't bat an eye at rescheduling for you. He's very flexible with everyone."

Her voice felt high, "I take it you're not coming to class then?"

She shook her head and rested it against Ralph's shoulder, "Way too far behind. Think I need a bit of a cuddle." She got a croon of agreement and reached up, touching his cheek, as he fussed a blanket over her. "You too. I'm sorry it hurts, Rob."

Hermione frowned and went back to her books, still angry at the situation and slow research process for a solution to the bonding issues that had been discovered during their drawn out Australia adventure. She shoved it aside and kept studying and began feeling more out of sorts. A croon and she looked up, Ginny was staring at her. "Want to come to Gringotts with us? We need to visit our vault and settle some paperwork to set up the band vault."

She was feeling even more uncomfortable and nodded, wanting to be close to Bill. "Bill can grab whatever you need from your vault, Gin."

"But then we don't get to ride in the cart!" Ginny popped up, turning to yank her dragon. "We need a bit of a distraction. Can you ask them to just ride us around in it for fun? I bet they'll do it if you ask, Bill used to get them to do it for Ron and I when he first started at Gringotts."

Hermione looked at her schoolwork that was simply not sinking in at the moment and nodded, she'd been having those blasted fake contractions that had kept her up all night and distracted all day. Knowing Bill would be upset if she showed up without her little guard went and let them in, feeling one brush by her under with a huffy noise. She glanced over to where Ginny was settling herself into a piggyback style hold so they could floo together. Ginny threw the powder in, yelled the location of Bill's office. She followed suit and was pleased to see they'd made it, but felt very, off, back clenching. She glanced around, Bill wasn't in at the moment and she felt a new sensation and Ginny gave a startled gasp. She turned right back around and tried to head for the floo, to be blocked by Ginny. "No, Hermione."

"But-"

"You can't. Witches have their babies where the water breaks for the most part. How it's done. What if soot gets up there and chokes the baby?" Ginny was gently moving her back into the room, ignoring the gobbledygook.

"Apparate me?" She begged, looking around at her companions, this was not right, not right at all. She was supposed to go to St. Mungo's or the Hospital Wing or her bed, panic was starting to flood. She didn't want to have her baby in Bill's office or anywhere in the bank for that matter. Any bank at all, the baby was misbehaving already. They had clearly already over spoiled their child, giving baby all of the pasta it wanted and now it was blowing up in her face, she was going to tell Bill that. It was his fault, constant pasta making, the house elves too, always having it ready and waiting. She knew it was panic, blindly focusing on the pasta to not have to focus on the fact she was about to have a child with a bunch of bankers for help.

"You know I can't." Ginny was extremely gentle guiding her into the chair as Ralph started clearing the desk, pulling her out of her panicked thoughts. "We don't want to risk splinching the baby. Just be calm. Let me check, if we've got time I can take you via broom or Ralph can carry you, alright?"

Then she turned into a drill sergeant, turning to the now visible goblins who were very excited that the baby was coming on goblin grounds, chattering that yes the baby would be coming here, good signs. "I need towels and hot and cold water, one of you to go find Bill and then fetch Molly Weasley. Figure out if Gringotts has a car or transportation methods and report back."

"I want my Mum." Hermione managed over the clenching sensation, "And Bill." There was a bit of blind panic at the wracking pain, "Ginny, this isn't my birthing plan. Nothing said anything about Gringotts. Or you. I need-"

"Safe to say that went out the window. Not having me is just an oversight, didn't add your footnotes. It'll be completely fine." Ginny cheered as more goblins came running in, started pointing at them issuing various orders. "Is there a little clinic here? No stop that chanting, it's not soothing." It got louder, she didn't want weird goblin chants, Ralph roared at them after a glance her way for permission, they shut up and she managed a smile at him. She hoped Ginny made him guard the door, just roaring at anyone she didn't want in. Ginny was still harassing the goblins, who seemed to think they knew better than her, but now were glancing very nervously at her large dragon mate who was grabbing Bill's office axe off the wall. "You go fetch Hermione's mum, address?"

She choked out the address for the eager goblin and he went rushing off, Bill's goblin sisters appearing rapidly. Ginny looking very intently at her dragon, "No, put the axe down, you made your point. Just tell me how, Ralph, I don't think Hermione is comfortable with you checking her nether region."

No, she was definitely not comfortable, she did not care that he was a nesting specialist and had gotten eggs out of dragon laying gone wrong, she was not a dragon. Ginny was prattling at her, voice forcefully cheerful, as she dropped to a kneel, motioning at the goblins to stay back and move to where they too couldn't see. "Centaurs had him come help with a complicated birth day we got back, had to shove his hand in to turn the foal, he got kicked, but the little bud made it out alright. Spread em, mama so I can check how far along you are. Sweetest little thing you ever saw, staggering on his shaky legs. I watched and helped clean him up and got a cute little foal hug. Plus I helped when Tonks had Teddy, so you're in expert hands."

"Ginny don't show him what you're seeing! Eek, don't pinch!" She ordered it, no difference in her head between Ginny seeing it and showing it to Ralph or him seeing it himself. Another wrenching pain went through her and she cried out. She did not want it like this, did not want to have her baby with Ginny, a dragon and some goblin women in Bill's office. This was not how it was supposed to work, she was supposed to have her Mum and his Mum, with Bill waiting right outside eager to hold their little one. Or inside, but Madam Pomfrey had told her that was in no way going to happen if she had the baby at school because if the father sees you have a squib. She thought it was ridiculous, but could tell once it was said Bill blanched a bit, pureblood anecdotes and fears intact. They'd laid in bed that night, Bill quietly musing that if the Deathly Hallows were true, a lot of other things were too, and had her father seen her born? He hadn't and Bill had nodded and quietly said he'd been looking forward to holding baby first, so on the birthing plan it remained, baby would get cleaned and passed to Daddy while new Mum got tended to.

Ginny looked up at her, hand reaching for a towel, eyes like saucers, "You're doing fine, but I don't think there's time to get you anywhere else. It's a great thing, nobody wants a long labor!"

Ron walked in before she could fathom any response, "Oi, Bill!" A pause, "What's going on?"

"I'm having a baby. It's not going to plan." She sounded dumb to her own ears as Ginny was issuing rapid orders at the goblins returning with goods on where to put things.

"Why the hell are you still standing there? Make yourself useful, go fetch me a bed, human sized, and Hermione's baby bag." Ginny rapped at him and everything went into the moments where she could barely breathe. Hermione looked up, Ginny was shoving a rope at her, "Squeeze that, you'll have to let go of my hand. Or hold Ralph's or a goblin's."

Rapid gobbledygook and she understood it, then screamed at the goblin in pure panic, not giving a whit about how important what Bill was doing at the moment, "Well go get him from Spain then!" Another pain as the mean goblin eyed her down, "If Bill isn't here you will never have a baby, I'll curse-"

He went running, most of them went running, shoving each other out of the way and Ginny patted her hand. "Well done, let it out! Scream at them all you want. It's on the new birthing plan. Maternal specialist, check. Ginny, check. Goblins to yell at, check."

She would scream quite a bit, alternately apologizing for it, the little women thinking it was going to be good luck for babies to participate in such an important birth, taking turns as a target. Or that's what they would say when she awkwardly tried to apologize at the baby feast. There was one of Bill's goblin sisters who would be pregnant by the baby feast and attribute it to getting the honor of holding the birthing mother's hand during contractions.

* * *

Bill shoved his face in his hands at her pained noise, hating the privacy curtain around his now transfigured desk into a birthing bed, hating how he'd come barreling in to be knocked over by his mother rushing even faster. Now he was in hallway exile and while everyone was trying to be supportive, they were smothering. They were loud to try and drown out Hermione's cries and grunts and verbal goblin assault, had cards and firewhiskey and he was a mess inside. He had all of his surviving brothers, friends, Remus, Harry and what appeared to be practically every non essential Gringotts goblin loitering. He couldn't stop looking at Teddy, Teddy had done this and not killed his mother. This was not a pain Bill could carry for her, didn't have the right parts and he did not like hearing the noises, feeling the pain and exhaustion from her side of the bond. At least he could support her that way, send her love, encouragement and energy, more than most fathers could do. Dr. Granger looked no better, staring down into a glass of scotch in memory and Bill didn't want to talk to him again, they'd tried so hard for Hermione and almost lost her and her mum at this moment. He'd said they had to do surgery and cut her Mum open to get Hermione out, which was a terrifying thought and gave him very scary mental images.

There was a cry, a wail that cut through all of the noise and an excited exclamation that it was a girl. He ran for the door they'd locked him out of, bashing into it at a sprint, when he yelled his enthusiasm and checks of welfare through it. He'd never remember what he said, just the rushing feeling of happiness that they had a baby girl and Mum and baby were fine. He would remember the door opening and being allowed in to the open portion of the curtain, seeing Hermione sweaty and smiling. Ginny very gently handing him his child, smile broad across her face as he was given a very precious bundle.

Something changed in him then, fundamentally opening up and rising to the surface as he smiled down on his new little one, giving his little redhead soft encouraging words of love. He looked up, found Hermione had tears on her face at them and thought he might as well, the snapping of a camera vaguely registering. He kissed her, settling next to Mummy, stroking a sweaty curl from her forehead. It was only them for a few minutes, the Mums and Ginny rustling somewhere outside the curtain, giving them privacy. He settled their little joy into her arms, wrapping his own around the two most important girls in his life. "Charlie? What did you want to name the most beautiful little pearl the sea ever gave anyone."

Charlie came bounding in at Hermione's wet smile, patting himself and frowning. "I had a speech." He glanced at their eagerness, their softness and got nervous, decided to not wax. "Rosalind. Hermione was named after a heroine in a Shakespeare play and _As You Like It,_ was always your favorite, Bill. She's that witty, smart one and-"

"It's perfect, Charlie." Hermione had tears brimming over, confession running out. "I was so worried."

He looked down at her while Charlie laughed, at her flushed newborn cheeks and looked at Hermione, and yes, yes it was overwhelmingly perfect just like her. "Rosalind, if it's alright, Daddy might call you Rosie for now."

"Rosie." Hermione tested out and smiled, starting to look very tired and he tucked her back into his arms, just now noticing the receiving blanket Ginny had made was edged with painfully perfect hand stitched roses. Hermione rested and he got to figuring out what fatherhood was all about, laughing wildly at jokes and spending a lot of time staring at his little daughter whether she was in his arms or being held by her excited family. They found that when they got to go home Charlie had gotten a very fancy copy of the play and he and Harry had whimsically planted a rose garden for their new goddaughter right under the nursery window. The goblins too had gone, not to be outdone by any means, gilded rose rattles and mobiles, her own vault, a photo already in the nursery of all them happily looking on Rosie in adoration as Bill sat and showed her off to them. This photo would always make Hermione crack a slightly sheepish smile. They also found their little new addition had a righteous defender in Crookshanks, who would mew very angrily if they accidentally shut the nursery door and he couldn't access his charge. They'd worried he'd be jealous as he had been and still occasionally was of Bill, but he was not, followed the baby from room to room, napping near her and assaulting anything he perceived as a threat.

* * *

11 March, 1999

"Ginny, are you ready?" Harry called, coming through their rooms to be abruptly grabbed by Charlie, yanked backwards as fire was thrown his way.

"Stop that, Ralph Robinson!" Ginny was scolding and Harry looked around, Ginny was just in her slip and there was tons of torn clothing on the floor. Ralph was boxing her in until she was back against their nest. "I have to go."

Charlie's voice was quiet next to his ear, "Ralph knows Ginny is going to go see Tom and wants to go with her or keep her here. Took ages to convince him to unbarricade the door. He's having a tantrum."

"I thought he wasn't supposed to know…because of well, this. Dragon fury." Harry hissed back, watching the two of them stubbornly glare at each other, talking however they talked before a roar came his way.

"He's a private dragon and won't tell me how he's getting information or into places he's not supposed to be. He can't say the passwords and it's driving Minerva mental not knowing how the hell he's getting around." Charlie shook his head.

"Pipes?" Harry offered up, "Like the basilisk?"

Charlie looked very thoughtful at that, "Maybe. Oh bloody hell, everyone will flip if Ginny doesn't show soon." He glanced at Harry, "Damn, wish they'd sent anyone else, no offense Harry, but he still thinks you're a mate stealing, hostage holding, little shit."

Yes, the timeline of mistletoe and his disjointed memories of being deported and readjusting off of all the potions they had been trying to use to fix him heavily featured Harry as the bad guy. It was Harry's fault he was kept in restraints, Harry's fault he couldn't see her because Harry had her somewhere behind bars and Harry's fault she was very weak by the time he reunited with his little queen.

"No, I am not going to go lie back down." She was trying to soothe him, "I'll sleep more after, I promise. Thank you for being worried about it."

A very demanding puff. She shook her head again, hands squeezing his shoulders, stroking the hair at the back of his neck trying to get him to understand, "He'll be restrained, Rob, it's fine. I'll be safe, but I can't take you in public, not when you're this upset. They'll take you away from me again." She paused, "Yes, even if you don't throw fire. You're not supposed to still be doing that anyway, it's bad for you and your throat always hurts after."

"No, the fact you didn't hit Harry when we had to kiss because of tradition does not show you're a big boy dragon, especially as you keep hitting him now. Why don't you go talk to dragon Mum? See if she'll tell Charlie you can be gentle enough so we can try for more eggs." She was trying to edge away from him.

He very gently pulled Ginny in closer, hand grazing down her to rest excitedly on her stomach and Charlie sighed, shaking his head, "You can't go, it's too dangerous. They wouldn't let her sit with you anyway. I'll protect her." A pause, "Yes she needs rest, why don't you spend the time tucking up the nest for her? Make sure she's got enough chocolate and pillows- No, I'm not patronizing you, dragprat. You want more mating restrictions lifted, to get them you need to be a good, gentle mate. Throwing a fit isn't convincing anyone you can be trusted not to hurt her." He gestured, "She's bleeding right now because you keep ripping her clothes off. I'll take her like that if it comes to it."

Charlie neatly jumped backwards dodging the fire. Harry glanced at his watch, they really needed to get moving and went forward, "It's alright, Ralph, she'll be nowhere near him. She just has to give testimony and then we'll bring her right back."

"Don't insult him." Ginny was scolding. "No, he never took me hostage and kept me in a cage. He helped you, darling, and he wouldn't be able to look at me like that if you let me get dressed."

Ginny was trying to gently get out of his grip, whispering and kissing lightly at him, very carefully not looking at Harry. He tried not to listen in and intrude as Ginny was reassuring him that he had all the love, that Harry was not here to challenge him for his mate and yes he'd already shown he could beat him in a fight, so no need to do it again. She had not stolen an egg for him, just Ralph. He took a step back at that, not wanting yet another encounter to end with either he or the dragon hurt. He tried again, "I'll take care of her. I'm her assigned guard."

"Shush." Charlie hissed it at him, before tossing out his voice. "No, Robinson, you can do all of those things yourself, you don't need Ginny for any of it. You're just making shit up to try and get her to stay, you do not suddenly, as of this moment need to be taken care of for your life threatening fake fever. Stop this or I'll have Harry get his house elf to come get you." Pause. "Yes, that one."

Harry shot him a Hermione like glare, Kreacher had achieved a very high status amongst his brethren and was one of the few house elves who prided himself on not being afraid of the dragon man and took great pleasure in the keeping of Harry's seventh's room. Harry would get lots of little cracks so Kreacher could happily tell him he'd scared the large mudblood dragon again, was extremely proud his filthy blood was appropriately terrified of proper house elves. It shot a pain through him at the thought of Sirius, of how hard he'd laughed while retelling of how when everyone first moved to Grimmauld a muggleborn Order member swung through and Kreacher had made it his personal goal to make the mudblood's stay hell and succeeded. It had been smoother for Hermione due to the list of orders the visit had resulted in, no following muggleborns around just so you can lock them in dangerous rooms, no pretending to offer them help so you can ruin their things, no spiking their firewhiskey with doxy powder to make them sick, no hiding the bathrooms from them, no creeping them out in the middle of the night to where they scream like a little girl, no vindictive use of house elf magic to save all of the hot water for purebloods.

Charlie glanced at his own watch, "Gin, you alright? I'm about to be sworn in to give my deposition. I've got to go."

"Yeah, but I thought-"

"Pre-trial stuff for the werewolves that were killing the unicorns to keep Greyback alive. Gotta talk about the impact to unicorn population in the Forbidden Forest and get funds to up it. Figured I'd cram it all in one visit." Charlie called over his shoulder as he trotted off.

Ginny's voice was slightly muffled, "No, Rob. You have to stay. Tom understands that we're not mated, that it's just a game in his head."

Well, Harry wasn't so sure about that, but now wasn't the time to discuss Riddle's delusions around Ginny, because he was completely convinced they were forcibly making his wife testify against him and breaking wizarding law in doing so. Had even been audacious enough to ask if he could have overnight visits with her while he was in England for the trial, declined immediately. His reaction to Ginny's personal rejection to spend her evenings there as the facility had 24 hour visitation had been instantly violent and Harry had been one of the unfortunate Aurors to escort her back to school, from a supposed cart fall at Gringotts, very much reinforcing her dragon king's hatred of him as demonstrated in a very unkind reception to his queen being returned in a fragile state. In retrospect, he and Bill should have coordinated giving her potions and probably ensured all of the blood was off of her dress, not just tuck her into a new outer robe. Bill had carried her into the Nest, been deemed as the brother who had taken proper care of her and would yell at the goblins for Ralph, while Harry had clearly been the cause of fake cart accident as he'd made the mistake of saying he'd just needed to grab something from his vault.

Harry, on more than one occasion, had the fleeting thought that he should have just killed Voldemort and made everyone's lives much easier. "Now you're just being rude and I'm not telling him that. He's not a dragon, he doesn't have to do what you say and I won't give him the photo if you draw it." Ginny was making traction in escaping, though her dragon seemed to be getting angrier. "No, I'm not being a bad dragon either."

"Ginny, it's okay you can, um tell me." He tuned back in from twirling out a quick message that they would be very late and to change the witness order.

"He would sentence you to a life of no mate and no clutches, go make you be the new Gringotts dragon." Err, well that seemed a bit extreme, but as he could not be the Gringotts dragon he wasn't going to worry about it.

Ginny was shaking her head angrily, "Don't give me ultimatums. I'm not being a bad mate by going with Harry, because I'm coming right back."

He let go of her and Ginny froze, slowly looking at the doorway. Voice now hurt, "You don't mean that. Take it back, please. I am not a bad dragon mother to our clutch, I stole you that egg and it's not my fault it's not hatching."

He reached over and took the daffodil pin from her hair and pulled up her hand, sliding the ring he'd given her off, went over to the closet, pulled out a dress and tossed it to her. Ginny made no move to catch it and it hit her, before dropping to the ground, she was standing there with tears in her eyes, trying very hard not to cry.

"She has to go, Ralph, or she'll get in trouble. She's required by the Wizengamot to be there to testify." He flipped their nest and Harry moved to get out of the doorway. While he had enough room to get by, threw out an arm and shoved Harry roughly into the wall anyway before striding off.

Harry moved in, "Ginny?"

She just looked at the floor, swallowing down whatever emotion she was feeling. He picked up the dress and tried to hand it to her, she didn't make any reaction. After another glance at his watch just started dressing her himself, he'd gotten pretty adept at it when Cho had been almost cationic at points of their latch. Ginny made no move to help, "Ginny? Um, is he alright loose in that mood?"

"Since he can't leave Hogwarts on his own, he's off to find his Mum and ask to be taken home." She looked at the ground again, voice choked. "I'm not home anymore. Not even his nest mate."

Harry pulled her into a gentle hug, rubbing her back and pulling up the zipper. "He didn't mean any of it, Gin. He's just worked up, you know he loves you."

"That's what started this mess." She muttered it into his shoulder, squeezing him before pulling away. "You don't know him, Harry." She gave a sad sigh, hand digging into her side as if to support herself. "He'll probably be gone for good by the time I come back today, regrets that he came back in the first place."

Harry didn't know what to say, he felt bad for her, but it was coming anyway. They knew from when Ralph was in exile and the manic attempts to find him, the bond Ginny said was rebuilding wasn't forming right, causing her pain. Depending on how she did at the trial he was supposed to take her to St. Mungo's after to have the bond Riddle tried to form between them investigated by specialists on how best to get rid of it, thinking it was compounding the issue on her side. They knew for Riddle the effects were neutralized by even just ten minutes holding her hand, he became much less volatile and far more rational. He hadn't told Ginny yet that they were going to check compatibility between themselves as an alternative to the two bonds, since she had said they were highly compatible on the beach a lifetime ago trying to turn him off and the reigning opinion was she would need to be in a bond. She wasn't deemed soul stable to her own body after the diary, likely why she and Ralph had done so much accidental soul magic. He was hoping today they'd not fight, just be easy and was very unsure how she would react to the thought. He knew Ralph was aware their bond would likely be destroyed, was concerned mainly for Ginny's safety and had requested through multiple dragon speakers to be immediately relocated to a remote reserve once he was separated from the mate of his heart, so she could go on and have a proper life mate. Harry didn't know how that would go over either, but was willing to risk bonding with her anyway to save her life, even if she'd hate him for awhile. He said the only thing that made sense, "Let's go get this over with."

Ginny was fussing with herself, "Do I look alright? Haven't slept in days, maybe you're right, Harry. Ralph hasn't either, maybe after a good rest he'll come back to his senses. He's been such a bad sleeper after what you all did to him, well not you, but you get what I'm trying to say. You're the only one who apologized, so you'll probably end up Head Auror once the internal Ministry investigation is done and he's fired."

Harry paused and took her in, ignoring her idle glare, reaching out and tucking a loose bit of hair back, resetting her necklace to hang properly, tucking the back of her collar. She looked as frail as a bird with makeup not quite able to cover her tremulous state. Even more problematic that he found Ginny a touch overwhelming when she allowed vulnerability to show at the edges and he too wanted to herd her back into her nest and not let a soul near her. He had shoved her away once because of the exact same look in the days following Dumbledore's death and of all the many decisions he'd made, it was one of the ones he most questioned. It had seemed the noble thing to do, but was made in a time of confused, life altering grief. "Fine." Then realizing he'd just touched her again without asking, flushed slightly. "Sorry. Oh erm, congratulations on the award."

"What? Oh, the pretty person award." She rolled her eyes. "Yours and Hermione's articles at least has substance and were real awards."

"A painter could spend a lifetime trying to express the mix of delicate beauty, forceful personality and eyes swimming with secrets, a beauty that cannot be captured on canvas." Harry found she was blushing, he probably was as well, she thought the article was trash and he'd read it so many times he'd memorized chunks of it. He tried to cover it up, "I've got the traumatic childhood they love and you've got the tragically complicated love life they're going crazy over in trial coverage. We've got press in from everywhere it seems."

Ginny made sounds of disapproval, she and the press had a very interesting relationship, that Ginny took advantage of when it suited her and scorned when it didn't. A thought occurred to Harry, there was some major coordination that needed to happen. "Actually we've got to talk about that, are you planning on going to the gala? We've got to set up extra protection, the Americans have a Dark on the rise-"

She nodded unhappily, "Mum and Bill say it's rude if I don't go. That being named the Most Beautiful Witch isn't just skin deep, which it clearly is." She shook her head, dismissing it. "That the Dark they wanted you to come zap?"

He nodded, reaching out to tuck another stray bit of hair let loose by her loss of her trusty courtship pin, pausing and pulling a spare sickle out. He didn't know exactly the charm work Ralph had thrown into her initial gift, but had learned enough in Auror training to at least create a temporary protective and shielding charm to protect her per his job, feelings aside. Ginny fidgeted impatiently while he worked, plaiting and replaiting her hair, coloring her lips, but once told what he was doing softened. She was very quiet and quite sweet when she took the protective token, softly thanking him for his thoughtfulness with a peck to the cheek.

He covered well enough. "Got them to understand I'm not a dark wizard whiz, that Riddle and I were tied, but Ginny one of their raids showed he or his people have been collecting all of the articles and photos of you. Same with Hermione, which is making Bill flip with the death threats she got. Might be who tried to attack you two that Hogsmeade weekend."

"Does it ever end?" She sighed and he pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back for a long moment. "Did you figure out what the mark we saw was? You know, before Hermione buried them all under all of the snow Hogsmeade had."

There was a little croon and she pulled away. One of the tiny dragons was flying at Ginny, she adjusted her hair so it could settle on her shoulder. "No flaming or attacking and tell your daddy to calm down, I'll be a good, proper mate from now on when he comes back." She turned back to him ignoring his raised eyebrow. "Was Tom in a decent mood? I skipped a whole week because Ralph was suspicious, couldn't be out of his sight during heat, but Tom seemed to have reverted to crazy. He was having a fit about how the Ministry is hiring squibs now and that was going to lead to muggles then to centaurs. Then he'll have to break out and take over and fix everything again."

"Kings was saying if he had to handle one more damn thing about the centaurs he was just going to turn him over to them and let them trample him." Harry's head hurt just thinking about them, perhaps his deep seated hatred was from them trampling Ginny, or maybe because they never even allowed an ambassador from his side to speak with them. Harry didn't know, he just knew Riddle loved to hate them with a fiery burning passion.

"In fairness to Tom, the centaurs are purposefully antagonizing him. Bane owled him photos of me at the centaur games and the article about it." Ginny shook her head and Harry commiserated with her, it seemed they were dealing with massive amounts of petty behavior because nobody really knew what to do with themselves now that it was safe. Remus had said it was like this after the First War, that people just needed something to cling onto and the wizarding world got obsessed with a number of pettiness and mysteries. Not limited to a very long running one where the center focus had been just how Mad-Eye's magical eye ended up in the snitch during a quidditch match.

"He's looking forward to seeing you, seemed very excited that his trial for crimes against you is finally happening and everyone will see it's just a large misunderstanding of how he was courting you. He's also planning his defense around if Dumbledore had just let him keep you when you time bobbled, he wouldn't have gotten so angry and started wars because you would have made him be nice sooner. Or if Dumbledore had just given him the job when he was qualified, he would have been happy - heads up on that, he'll probably ask you in witness examination if you think he's a good teacher. Stupidest thing is one of my coworkers thinks it makes a lot of sense, was telling Ron that really both he and Grindelwald are Dumbledore's fault." Harry told her, very much aggravated. "He's under the impression you'll be attending every minute, not just testifying."

She nodded, "I plan on telling him I need to study for my N.E.W.T.s. You know, without his tutoring."

He knew Ginny spent several hours of her week there catching up on her schoolwork, as she'd missed over a month of class, with his tutoring, knew the barrier was removed for ease of materials and that they were overseen by Aurors. He had taken his turn on watch, learning quite a bit about advanced Transfiguration while being creeped out by how intensely he looked at Ginny, being kept from acting like an asshole by the promise of a hug if he behaved himself. "I don't want to listen to it, let Professor Snape and the Malfoys talk about his obsessive stalking. Hagrid's coming in to testify about what happened in the Forbidden Forest when he says we got married, but I've decided I don't remember any of the last few days for a reason, because it might be too much to handle. Sometimes Ralph's dreams bleed over from Operation Annoy and I shudder."

He grabbed down the floo powder, offering it to her, privately thinking she might be right. He too was going to have to testify, recall that even through having his eyes open just the tiniest slit, she had been extremely bloody with a centaur holding her up and when Lord Voldemort dragged her off it seemed like a very long time until that portion of their group came back with a less bloody, but tear streaked new bride. Had felt Hagrid's tears drop on his face at what they could hear. He'd read the transcripts, attended other trials and understood that as vile as Draco's father was, he had been the cornerstone in shifting Riddle's attentions as an excited groom to the reality his marriage might be of a short longevity as his new bride was injured possibly to a critical degree and perhaps healing her over cementing their marriage was advisable. He didn't want her to hear any of that. "Ginny, do you want me to sit with you as you testify? I'm allowed to for protection purposes."

She swallowed heavily, "Thank you, but no, Harry. This is between Tom and I, well now everyone else, but the last thing I want is for him to think I am in anyway weak. Or that you and I are in anyway together."

That stung and she softened, floo jar in hand. "For your protection, Harry. Nobody needs to be connected to me while he lives, because jail or not he has pull. He views Ralph as an it, a thing, a pet, so doesn't bother with him and we've encouraged that thought. You'd be a different story, you saw how he reacted to you when you were on watch and how he took it out on me."

"So what, Ginny? You're just going to take care of Ralph and be a nun? That's ridiculous." It slipped out hotly, perhaps more mad at himself for not noticing Riddle was holding her hand hard enough to leave bruises, or maybe at her for not crying out at the pinches.

Ginny clenched the jar. "In Tom's head if he can't have me, nobody can. Harry, you don't get it, nobody does, for all of you when you beat him the war was over. I got the lifetime clause. And please stop calling it taking care of Ralph like he's helpless or broken."

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that, but Ginny, it's not over at all for me." He rubbed a hand down his face, he wasn't entirely sure when he'd lost the ability to not shove his foot in his mouth in every conversation with Ginny, but he had, he'd also developed the stunning habit of doing it with Cho as well. When they'd gone to help escort their rock star Australia contingent home, even Draco had cringed on his behalf and interceded by just being his charming, insulting self switching the conversation. Later telling Harry he'd assumed someone had hit him with a babbling charm, but he hadn't done it for any nice reason. It had to do with his parents business interests with the muggles, and as Harry had already lost one girl to the dragon brother, he shouldn't push his luck with the one who could talk. Then mused that he wouldn't have minded seeing Harry getting punched out, but hey, he should take Daphne to the gala and see what a clever conversationalist looks like. Harry had then wanted to punch Draco in the mouth, but agreed to the date.

"Because you chose for it not to be, Harry. You could go live somewhere else if you wanted to, you're an Auror because you feel like you have to be. I don't have that luxury, I changed Ralph's life and that isn't going away, I have a chunk of my soul in Tom's. It doesn't matter that he's out of mine, I'm still in his and he's not giving that up for anything." She looked away, passion draining away into resignation. "Let's just get the trial over with."

Harry didn't know what to say, how to handle the stark realities of Ginny's life. Ginny didn't seem to either. "I'm sorry I called your choices ridiculous, Gin. I just…I don't understand it, that's all and I don't want you to have to live your life out of obligation. Not with Ralph. Not with Riddle. I know far too well how heavy that burden is."

"Yet you carried it, never ran from it." Ginny looked away, pinching the floo and tossing it in, ending the discussion with a rejoinder he had no response to. He took a deep breath and jumped after her, knowing he would be walking into a wall of press. Ginny seemed stunned when he exited, just deer in the headlights and since he hadn't told her which courtroom was just standing there ignoring the clattering questions. He tucked a hand into the small of her back, raised his wand and moved them through the crowd calling for clearance, wishing he'd remembered the non-blinding charm.

…...

"We've got two new witnesses." A sheaf of parchment was handed over and the Head Wizengamot looked down at the form in confusion.

"This is just a drawing of a dragon and a hat." She looked at it closer, "Is this some sort of joke?"

A voice familiar to all in the chamber echoed through the door, "I'm a hat, he's a dragon, neither of us can write."

Ginny was already heading for the hallway when the door was opened and she put her hand on her hip, scolding. "Go back to Hogwarts, Ralph Robinson. Is this why you stormed out?"

Ralph shook his head at her directive, implying it had been sweet, but completely ineffectual and kissed her forehead, ignoring the hiss from Lord Voldemort. He tucked her pin back into her hair, slipping her ring on giving her an apologetic expression that said if you can't beat them, join them. She scooted into his embrace, checking to make sure he wasn't hurt or carrying any potential weapons, pressing her face into his chest and getting wrapped in his arms. "Don't do that again, felt like you ripped my heart out. How did you even get here? Please tell me you didn't fly a dragon to London."

He shook his head, it was the Sorting Hat sitting on his head who clarified. "He climbed through the window in the Headmistresses' office, plopped me on, in much the same ripped out heart state, Ginevra. Told me what he wanted, was very stubborn about it. I did not want to disrespect the Headmistress, but the paintings encouraged me. Said I got set on fire and too should have my day in court and that it was noble, to help give voice to someone who has been silenced. So I handled the floo and security and here we happily are. They took our photo and I get to be quoted in the Daily Prophet like a celebrity!"

"You're not in trouble, but we'll be discussing later if you're how he's been getting around." McGonagall called, shooting both the Sorting Hat and Ralph a glare.

The scorched hat seemed supremely pleased with itself and quite excited, "I'm having an outside adventure, haven't had one in almost 500 years, but I couldn't turn down the chance to see so many former students. He thinks I should help with picking dragon mating pairs, says I'd have a real knack for it. Can you imagine that? New things to sort! Never had new things to sort before."

Nobody was quite sure what to say to the sentient, intelligent hat that had been placed on all of their heads, deciding their house and alignment for centuries. It was Mrs. Weasley who broke the silence, "I'm sure you would be excellent at it. Er, if you'd like to file a separate grievance, I'd be happy to help with the paperwork."

"Ah, Molly Prewett, my Gryffindor-Hufflepuff stall. You would have been a glory for the badgers, but indispensable in tempering your fellow lions. Excellent duel work there at the end." Mrs. Weasley blushed furiously at the hat's assessment as if she were eleven all over again. The Sorting Hat went on, "I'd like to testify, that should do nicely enough for me for I've seen the thoughts of Mr. Riddle and assisted Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom in their fights."

"Allowed." The head Wizengamot added the Sorting Hat.

"Excellent, I wrote a song just for it." He tucked the tip forward, "He would like to as well."

"You stubborn sneaky thing, picking fights so I'll be distracted." Ginny whispered it affectionally to her dragon, leaning up for an anxious kiss to reassure he wasn't leaving her. She seemed relieved he was there and gave the room a proud glare daring them to say a word, keeping her arms around his waist. Bill had a fleeting thought wondering if he and Hermione looked so disproportionately sized, it didn't matter, Hermione fit his arms perfectly. He made a small mental note to ask Ginny who was making Ralph's clothes. He wanted a new suit for their post handfast wedding since he too struggled with the limited selection of nicer clothes for tall people and there was no way the dragon or man had cared enough about tailoring to sort that himself.

"Ginevra. You requested I be a guardian of your _pet,_ it's going to be put down. I'm extremely displeased with you and expect that to be reflected in your punishment." It was cold, angry and very clearly stated, no hissing.

She slammed her hand over Ralph's mouth to muffle his roar. "Back to empty threats, are we? You're not his guardian now, so take a single move to do that and I'll never see you again. So we both go insane or die."

The Head Wizengamot nodded and looked at Ralph in confusion, who held up a muggle notebook titled _Persephone_. Ginny froze in his loose arm around her waist, her mother clarifying. "Once Voldemort gave Ginny another diary, Ralph started documenting everything from his point of view to hold it together while Ginny slept or spoke to him." Her eyes went teary. "We found it when cleaning out his flat, thinking he meant it for Ginny until we found the letter for her. He'd known about a prophecy stating he'd be gone by now, thought he would be dead or optimistically the first wizard in space." She looked seriously at him then at Ginny, "Are you sure, Ralph? It's…. quite personal, very personal really."

Because in that journal were the words of someone who'd been told since he was twelve that he would be gone by now, had very carefully guarded his heart as a result until he belatedly realized it wasn't his to begin with. A young man whose heart was Ginny's canvas, writing that while he was a mere smear of paint on hers he hoped she'd smile at the shading and not paint over the fleeting swipe of them. Words of the terrible internal fight to not just hide her away, to sit on his hands and wait for Beltane, to keep charming letters, to be the calming factor for Ginny while he was simmering with hot anger at the atrocities and threats. It was uncensored, ugly and far too moving in in its strikingly raw portrayal of love sitting on a hourglass rapidly running out of sand. Bill had read it and quietly told his Mum that as awful of a sentiment that it was, it made him thankful Hermione's torture was over before she showed up on his beach and latched. He had not endured the sheer soul sucking wretchedness of stoically trying to be the loving foundation as she walked in the shadows willingly to try and stop a war. Fraught with situations beyond his control, trying to encourage a relationship with her most recent ex for her happily ever after even as he courted her, hoping the rules would keep her from entangling her heart as he'd so fumbled his. Yet thrilled when the rules had done no such thing as for her too, they were a bit late to the love fest. Having aching talks about the future they wouldn't get, that yes they would replant the pear orchard and when the war was over they would travel the world together. All mixed in with his interactions with Tom, her interactions with Tom and thoughts in general.

Ralph nodded at Mrs. Weasley and kissed Ginny's forehead again, pulling her trembling form fully into his arms as he looked at Lord Voldemort strapped into the chair. Before very intentionally tipping her chin up for more of a kiss. "Objection! He's assaulting my wife."

The outburst was ignored and the passionate kiss went on longer than was proper in public, Ginny starting to cling, "No, I'm staying. You can't let everyone else hear it and not let me because you think it'll upset me."

"Ralph, do you want me to edit the parts of you and Ginny out for you? Some of that doesn't have to do with him and it was very rude of you to break into my rooms to steal your journal back." Mrs. Weasley asked and scolded from where she'd approached a flick of his eyes at the prisoner and she dropped her voice to a bare whisper that wouldn't carry, "Oh, you want him to hear it, don't you? You're being a vindictive dragon today."

When it was his turn to testify Ginny, as the victim, was not allowed to read it. Charlie managed a few pages before choking and recusing himself, saying he was too close to the events. It didn't matter as Mrs. Robinson read, there were several asides directly addressed to Charlie who he had assumed would end up with the journal. That he was being an annoying tosser at the moment, a thank you here and there, that for fuck's sake he needed to man up and ask Minerva out over create contrived situations to spend time with her, they were not fifteen anymore, girls weren't scary. Charlie had flushed at that and immediately looked at his lap, missing the rather startled stare of his boss and all of the subsequent stares of the crowd between the two. There were comedic blips that cut through the tragic tapestry, his mother's voice training as an actress reducing most of Wizengaomot to using their ever dry WWW handkerchiefs. Bill did not cry, but he did swallow bile at one point and hated that there was compassionate logic in the reflection of just how Lord Voldemort came to be, swirling thoughts on nature versus nurture. Commiseration for he too had stood in class as a first year listening to things explained with analogies he had no reference to, but was too stubborn to ask questions so he'd just wait and see what the other kids did. How it had to have been so much worse in Slytherin being muggle raised. His mother had paused wiping her eyes as he contemplated just how badly he'd muck everything up if he just had Charlie take his Mum back in time to adopt the sucker or visit him a ton or something, show him some Mum love to prevent him from becoming a horrible person.

"Dammit." Charlie muttered from beside him, "Gonna end up with an inquiry, aren't I?"

"Why?" Bill muttered back.

"Turns out you can't time travel a muggle, but I went and visited the kid." Charlie gave the barest whisper back and Bill gave him a look that indicated later, Charlie was fessing up to everything. Bill's mother was trying to break his hand and he was so glad Hermione wasn't here, was curled up at home getting baby snuggles. A glance downward showed Ginny was still sitting there next to Harry, listening raptly and looking only at Ralph, no tears trailing her face even if she seemed to be madly shaking. A page turned and a photo slipped out, "Does this need to go to evidence? Ginny, come read this part, not sure it's…relevant."

"It was entered as evidence, omitting parts of it invalidates the whole." Lord Voldemort was firm, the Head Wizengamot pondered and eventually agreed.

' _We're on a break from playing Riddles so Wood can make more margaritas and Davies and Cho can pick up another appetizer order, though it'll take ages because Muriel doesn't give a flip about their freedom from their ultra strict chaperone rules. I talk to the other guys and am just really thankful in that regard, even before she had to move in our chaperones were very relaxed, curfew mattered and we were very respectful of the promise she made her dad to not intentionally be alone, but Bill's up to some super secret something for the Order and we've been his primary cover for awhile now._

Bill felt a lot of accusing glares come his way on behalf of his terrible chaperoning, not unsurprisingly and gave a calm rejoinder. "Ralph's protection detail for the muggle Prime Minister meant his shift schedule was known only to a few Order of the Phoenix members and often aligned with my efforts. I'll admit we didn't discourage the view that they spent every spare moment together and needed constant chaperoning, due to the delicacy of who was being harbored in specific safe houses. For those concerned, the muggle Prime Minister was added to their courting paperwork as a chaperone so they could provide joint coverage on missions."

Quills from other members of the Wizengamout scratched around him and the testimony was indicated to continue at no follow up questions. " _Muriel is quite frankly the best courtship group speaker we've had, because she decided the lesson was pointless as soon as Wood mentioned he and Alicia had stopped for a margarita, she hadn't had one in ages, Ginny has never had one, so rather than have to talk about how to handle stressful times she said we're in a war, done, how to handle them is to find times to smile. I like that phrase, find times to smile, we're all so tense, Ginny and I are stuck in the cycle of Operation Annoy, not exactly a ball of laughs. We invited Tom to play, so we could focus and Ginny screwed her partner choice, thought because he's brilliant they'd be more likely to win. So she is his partner and I've scored the goldmine, Muriel knows riddles that went out of style and I know ones true Brits have never heard, so we're slaying. Slaying. Muriel hates me about 80% of the time, but I've scored a compliment, an overheard, bonafide compliment. Ginny is alternately glaring at us for our game domination, but gave me one hell of a kiss after the compliment, because Muriel is so important to her. The two of them are over there trying to figure out which Death Eaters are on the other two teams (really just want their margaritas first), since Tom won't say and our Order intelligence extract experts haven't shown up yet. Charlie's full of shit on this one, no clue how he convinced Minerva to be his partner, probably to glare at me, nothing to do with being a handwriting expert through the journal. It should be documented somewhere that I took the fall for a massive amount of crap I didn't do because Ginny's rebel group would get punished by the Carrows, like months of their resistance, so Minerva should be over the Hogwarts bash up. The world's fakest apology note includes apologies for things that happened while I was in Romania, random stuff (why would I portkey back to break into Hogwarts just to leave tripping shrubs about?), stuff rebel Ginny did, stuff I'm pretty sure Death Eaters did, stuff I think Minerva did in her own protests. Unclear, I was given a list and wrote a four page mea culpa that The Phantom was weirdly intrigued by and was surprisingly helpful on, as Ginny gets in no trouble and can resume her education properly. Its nice when he's not horrendous-_

 _Tom is threatening to burn down the flat's building, because he is a sore loser. Ginny is telling him she'll refuse to leave, I feel like a parrot writing on repeat that yes, while I technically own Ginny or something at this stage in courtship, I will let her die of smoke inhalation or burn, because that is what she wants. Clearly, we're not truly going to stay in the flat if he sets the building on fire, but he's redirected his intense fury onto me (and Muriel, by proxy), for the thought I would ever endanger his precious Persephone. Persephone is over there giggling with Cho, Alicia and Tonks, who is traitorously wearing my face to reenact how the suitors got a bit overwhelmed when she came to help us with the courtship shopping. I did not look that stupid, perhaps confused, because we didn't really know that women's lingerie had such specific sizes and could not imagine asking them something so personal when faced with racks of things that get into a guy's imagination. Debating whether to piss the Phantom off more by telling him what I bought, that Ginny is breaking her rules by wearing her fancy things early. Not that I'm seeing her in anything good, but she's a terrible present snoop and is already obsessed with the hotel style bathrobe meant for her wedding trousseau. I'm vindicated, they made fun of me at first, Davies had never stayed in a hotel, Wood got it, admitting that he loved those things, because being a man doesn't mean you have to freeze when you get out of the shower. So a plethora of robes and slippers were bought in addition to the silky things, Tonks even got one for Teddy. I probably messed the rest up, but the robes are great, monogram on the front, dragon on the back. Her other suitor was told of her bathrobe happiness and has sent quite a few retaliation bathroom goods, but I don't want to discuss how Ginny's hair smells or how soft it is with the creep. Dammit I think I smell smoke._

 _…_

 _This has been the worst thing he's done by far. He's forced me into a corner, he's made me hurt Ginny. We're both upset, I'm angry and she's feeling rejected. Rejected. I tried my hardest, did my best to be gentle in explaining why, held her in my magic, but I still said no twice. We're in stage three, in theory we can all but precede the wedding night, but we can't. All of those rules we agreed on about her leading the way and were excited about before that damn diary are now circumspect, every touch I have to pause her and figure out if she's truly ready or if he's been scaring her. We all know the myth of Persephone. She won't even make eye contact with me right now and it's awful, there was no feasible win. He's terrified her to the point she's asked me to take her virginity, to go to Gretna Green because I pushed back with the fact she wanted to wait. She'd put on makeup, done her hair, built herself up in the bathroom to come out in lingerie. I said no, I should probably go shove myself into the bathroom bin with the lingerie I will never see her in again, for her it's such a gift and I just ruined that. I can't imagine her ever approaching me like that again. If he's trying to create a chasm between us, it's working, we can't undo those moments. The initial no, her determined kisses, the mind scattered second refusal, because she is fire and I so badly want to be her pyre. Nothing can undo her doused expression, quiet apology and retreat, or how we both felt, her in the bathroom me with my head shoved in my hands. She wants it to be my hands, not his, I want the same, but not like this. She is so scared, I'm just as freaked out, but trying to keep it steady, trying to keep my magic in line because stuff keeps smashing itself angrily into the walls. It's never been so clear what he truly wants from Ginny nor so unclear how I'm supposed to keep it together for us, for her. He wants her as his wife, the loving companion and doting mother and I'm over here trying to not get sick at what he's saying to her. Trying to make sure she and Harry are still dear friends so that when I get stuck in space she has the option to be the wife, the loving companion, the doting mother to a family that isn't controlled by fear. Harry clearly isn't over her, little shit piggybacked on Hermione with his cloak to ask her to retest the bond. While I almost ended up murdered in the shower, at least Gin is a priority for him. Probably only alive because when he turned Tom on I'd pissed Tom off to the point that he hated me more than the Boy-Who-Lived and I became Ginny's target. Not so thrilled about coming to in the midst of a Mum to Mum conversation of who should dress him enough to take him to St. Mungo's (decision: Charlie), we can't take him there, and Ginny being very earnest that she should be the one to make me less buck ass naked and bloody. All despite the fact she was who smacked me in the back of the head with a ceramic turtle and was in desperate need of calm down kisses and needing her weapon taken away. Kisses groggily administered, since we both weren't ourselves things escalated past our usual stopping point and her Mum had to pry her off. Completely mortifying that I was now buck ass naked at full mast, trying to hide myself from the Mums and Ginny, who now looks slightly alarmed. Muriel would not let me dress as she healed, my vaccination marks are suspicious, I've got a weird mole, a head knock and now have had a frank anatomical discussion on extreme gentleness with Ginny in 'the wedding bed' and proper preparatory steps we should take. Completely horrific on it's own, but overhearing Ginny's concerned one with the Mums was the cherry on top of awkwardness. Tom doesn't have parents, but even he agreed it would suck hearing your Mum out there talking about your parents sex life in pretty specific detail. It would have been better, he told me, if Ginny had succeeded in killing me. Charlie, a tip, always ensure not all of the towels are in the wash when you shower. You'll be tasked with accidental turtle destruction when you show up._

Pause, a tentative question from a member of the Wizengamot. "Mr. Weasley, for clarification on the events, was the turtle destroyed?"

"That's what it was, a turtle? I blew it up with a curse in the hallway, damn thing Ginny made was near indestructible." Charlie looked thoughtful.

Ginny was blushing very defensively, "It was a clay dragon, I'm not good at pottery, ok? I had to make it for the soil courtship gift. Ralph said he liked it, thought it was admirable I'd worked so hard to create something so objectively ugly, but it was nice if we thought about it as abstract pottery."

Fred was snickering shamelessly into George's shoulder, who was trying very hard not to burst out into his own laughter. He lost and it was slightly infectious even as they went to the hallway to compose themselves as someone reassured Ginny that the soil courtship gift was bollocks, just designed for a couple to laugh about later.

She gave him a little series of croons over Voldemort's seething outrage to get them in return, their little 'I love you' version that both could say. He was afraid they would have to listen to the entire thing, but a recess was taken to let Voldemort calm down. He watched Ginny read the words Ralph had written about her, sitting in her dragon's lap, looking up at him incredulously while he shyly looked at the ground, stealing glances at her from time to time. She was giving him many affectionate little kisses, repeatedly softly asking if that was how he saw her to get shy nods. Something in Bill wrenched hard in indecision, even if it meant her life, how could he ask Ginny to give that up? If someone had told him he could be fine, live to be old, but never be allowed to see Hermione again, because they were going to rip her out of his soul and give hers to someone else, he'd flat out refuse unless it was Hermione's life or their baby's life on the line, not his own. He tenderly checked their bond to find she was just starting to doze and not wanting to interrupt withdrew.

It eventually restarted and the Sorting Hat requested a stool, his preferred singing stage.

"When there's a riddle there's a rhyme,

Lord Voldemort came at an opportune time,

To his darkness followers he did seek,

They came from the clever and weak,

It twas impure blood he spilled,

Ah and so many were thrilled,

Year after year my roster was changed,

Heart after heart had to be arranged,

Likable was the student who ripped apart his soul,

Hogwarts treasures stolen to meet his goal,

Steal me he did try, asked Dippet for just a quick word,

Saved was I from being absconded by a most excellent bird,

Conversation had we, had I seen a girl with hair like a penny,

Now I can recall and see that he was looking for his Ginny,

Would I let him know when she came through,

I have no way to communicate with you,

He could find a way, there was always a way,

For she was going to save a life, change his life

Likely as his wife, but perhaps there would be strife,

Angry he was, but I am the hat that kept him at bay,

My job is to help keep the castle and students from folly,

Lie I did and gave no mention of a young girl named Molly,

Paintings I did ask to find young Miss Prewett,

Common Room, tell Lady Vi to keep her from getting through it,

For I did not want him to spy his potential prize,

Dippet and Dumbledore agreed this was wise,

My defiance he did not forget so on fire I was set.

Along came Lily Evans, hair the exact shade of red,

My worry lingered until brave Lily was dead,

Our world celebrated the day we couldn't forget,

Dumbledore reflected that it might not be done yet,

Slytherin I thought at another matching copper red,

Please don't, please don't, I'd rather be dead,

All little Miss Weasley wanted was to be in Gryffindor,

To her brothers she ran happily across the floor,

Little Ginny did not eat, she did not sleep,

McGonagall worried all she did was weep,

To the Headmaster concerns were brought,

Questions asked of her brothers, no Ginny was just taut,

Safety assurances were given for Ginny's blood was pure,

No harm would come to her, for that was sure,

Then down she went because of a little book,

So it was at Tom Riddle we took another look.

Thrice I defied his threat, so on fire I was set.

The applause were deafening, the crowd for the most part not having heard a Sorting Hat song since their own school days. It bowed and Lord Voldemort looked bored at cross examination. "I would have clapped if I could, while I object with pretty much everything you said, I'm impressed with the rhyming."

"You have to be specific in cross examination, and ask questions." He was scolded as if they had been in this position before during the other trials where he'd just decided to be his own council.

"I'm not cross examining a dirty tattered hat." He paused thinking, "I think to paint the correct picture, we need to understand your relationship with Dumbledore and how much influence he had on your choices, as he has had so much on the wizarding world when given far too much power."

Bill groaned, this again, but alright, he could get baby cuddles later and adjusted his Wizengamot robes, intending on hopefully asking a question to shut it down in it's tracks for they would all end up in a big discussion broken down between Dumbledore supporters and skeptics. As much as he thought the man in the chair was crazy, he had to recognize the goblin cleverness of repeatedly managing to make this about Dumbledore and deflect the debate from his own crimes.

….

Bill was rushing, Charlie beside him, his heart racing, a pit in his stomach as he wildly tried to deny any logical conclusion. "Charlie, he can't have-"

"Clearly he did." Charlie's voice was taut, any shaky horror he held buried under the control Bill was lacking at the moment. Bill saw it again running in his brain, Ginny collapsing on the stand Ralph rushing for her, Voldemort a rush of black out of his restraints. The angry roar, the blocking of Ginny, everyone else madly trying to get to the floor, screaming for the no magic use restrictions to be lifted when Ralph got him by the neck, the deafening crack and the smash into the ground. The pause as it echoed over everyone's yells, then the hissing laughter from the ground. Voldemort reached up, redid his neck and stood, still laughing. "Give her to me."

All hell had broken loose, people fleeing, Aurors shoving through, wands out, Bill and Charlie shoving through to help. The grabbing off Ralph off of him, finding he had somehow been hurt, whatever magic Voldemort was using too strong for the restrictions or hit by Aurors. The panicked minutes after, looking around crazily for Ginny to see Harry running with her in his arms. He rubbed a hand across his face, the three of them were in the hospital, the Order was being recalled and there were so many threats against his wife and child already. Mum and the rest would take care of Ginny and Ralph for now.

Charlie grabbed his arm roughly, pausing him at the edge of the beach. "Bill, are you sure? Not just to the goblins?"

No, he wasn't sure, but he wasn't taking any risks either. He swallowed, saying what he'd said to Charlie time and time again as he humored Bill over this plan. "The goblins aren't all loyal, our clan yes, but there's still a lot anger that I was even made a goblin. The last place I want them is in Gurdoon if the goblins break out into factions amongst themselves. It'll be a blood bath and they're prime hostages for pushing wizards to change laws."

"Krum's offer still stands as well." Bill shook his head and Charlie nodded, green eyes hardening. Bill gave him a squeeze and they went back to running along the beach, Bill trying to breathe calmly, to prioritize back into crisis mode. Make the list, get what needs to be done out of the way, get to raiding the vaults. They smashed into Shell, Dr. Granger's eyes huge at their haste as she called out, "Hermione's napping. Everything alright? Look like you've seen a ghost."

He nodded tightly, reaching out for Rosie and holding her close, snuggling in her little baby scent, the soft happy coo as she wiggled in recognition of who it was. He took her upstairs, trying not to get emotional and pulled down the baby bag, pulled down the preparation bag and started yanking the prepacked emergency suitcases out of its extendable charm. Hermione's father had followed him into the nursery, looked at him, at the suitcases. "What happened?"

Bill ignored the question, voice tight, he already knew the answer, but he didn't want to say it so bluntly. "Anyone ever rent the house in Australia?"

He shook his head, looked at the suitcases again, hardening in instant understanding, Hermione had gotten her smarts from her family. His voice a question with an underlying demand. "You're sending her with us, aren't you?"

Bill nodded, hating the idea and gestured at the briefcase, "Both of them. Paperwork is in the orange folder. Money in the accounts and plenty of travelers checks."

He nodded and picked up two suitcases and began carrying them down, Bill went to the bedroom. There was his sweet Hermione, sleeping in an exhausted fashion. He didn't know if she would forgive him for this, but he didn't have another choice. She opened her eyes at Rosie's little noises just as he pocketed her wand, "Hungry already, little Rosie?"

She sat up abruptly at seeing his face, "Bill, what's wrong? What happened at the trial?"

He didn't lie to her, she could feel it down the bond. "There's another horcrux out there. Maybe more."

She blinked, blinked again, color draining away. "He only made seven."

"Only planned to make seven at sixteen." He'd been afraid of this, a plan of understanding based off one conversation a not yet corrupted teenager had with his Head of House. "We know he's murdered far more often than that. Kingsley said there's still definitively some Imperiused people at the Ministry, they've been tracking the known ones trying to figure out who's got them under."

She was wringing her hands, jumping out of the bed and Bill dropped a kiss into little red hair, holding his daughter closer. "Godric Gryffindor. We thought, well we thought he couldn't find anything. Oh, I've got to go find Harry-"

She stilled at the look on his face, hearing Charlie's calm _Obliviate_ carry up the stairs. She turned back to him, the look on her face freezing at his own expression, she became accusatory and begging at once, "Bill, no! Please, no!"

He lifted his wand, couldn't do it, started to lower it at her begging pleas not to, doubt rushing in. He didn't know how he could do this without her, how Harry or anyone else could, but it wasn't a risk he was willing to take. He saw how Remus was and there had been no direct threats against his wife and child. They knew Voldemort had no problems killing children, his followers had no problems with it. Hermione did not need to win a war this time, did not need more scars on her from bravery, their child deserved to not grow up in war time as he had. Deserved the happy childhood, not planned evacuation techniques and fear of the Dark Mark or strangers. They were targets, there had been threats, this was non-negotiable. Charlie was coming up the stairs, he pulled her close, murmuring love at her. "No, Bill!"

"Love, love we have to. I can't keep us all safe and you've been getting threats, what if they start threatening Rosie?" He muttered it into her hair, kissing, trying to keep the tears at bay. "You'll be alright, think I just died in a car crash. I'll come for you as soon as it's safe. Fleur will be with you too, same thing, you'll get to know what it feels like to have a sibling."

Charlie had come in and he clung to her, clung and clung, until Monica Wilkins called up to tell Pearl they were going to miss their flight if they didn't hurry. He pulled away, kissed sweet Rosie's head and passed her to Charlie. "I'll always love you, remember that. I'll be right there down the bond."

Hermione was frantically trying to find her wand, crying, and he turned to Charlie, "I can't watch."

"She shouldn't see you. Look at me, little sister." Charlie agreed, voice filled to the brim with aching pity. So he went to the bathroom and stared hard at himself in the mirror, watching the tears well as he heard Hermione Weasley become muggle Pearl Wessels, recent widow, set to move home for a fresh start at Uni. She began rushing around, trying to make sure everything was packed and a tear rolled down his face. She had told him how she'd built her parents a new life in great detail, thinking him just very interested in all the work it took, Ralph had documented all of the steps when making Ginny's muggle identity for the Order, in case it needed to be replicated. Between the two sources he'd learned enough to securely build a life for them that had no holes and was presumably untraceable back to the wizarding community of Britain. She had met her husband through attending the same boarding school his younger sister had. Traveled with Ralph to plant a second transcript right after their marriage, not knowing how to use a computer himself. Pearl had excellent grades and not a single complaint for ill behavior, had gone so far as to doctor her into a class photo hanging in the hallway to show she had been an excellent, if hard to remember girl.

As soon as she was out of the room he forced himself to calm down, to go to the wardrobe and grab out his dueling clothes, his wand harness and start trying to run through any vault associated with Gryffindor's descendants or major collectors to prioritize vault freezes, raids and a watch list.

Her very melancholy voice floated back up to him at the door and he went to the window, hiding behind the curtain, watching Charlie tuck the last of the suitcases into the boot of the jeep. "It feels like he's still here, you know? Like he never left us. We'll always love him, won't we Rosie?"

Rose Wessels and Rosalind Weasley, home birth, two separate muggle birth certificates registered in two separate parts of the UK, hair borrowed from their dragon to polyjuice as he had proper muggle identification and credentials.

"He didn't really leave you, sweets." Her mother soothed, "He'll always be an angel watching out for you two."

"Of course he will." Charlie assured her, ushering her to the car. "You've got the most wonderful scrapbook to show her."

Crookshanks was by him now, glaring at him, "We have to, Crooks. To keep them safe."

He got a very scratchy lick to his hand and automatically reached out to soothe the other left behind main man. They watched until Charlie had the jeep out of view, the soft bond that lingered between them showing her stressed, melancholy and empty and shoved as much love down the bond as he could at her. He pulled out of it, at least that was still there, he'd be able to check on her along with the updates he would get. His galleon buzzed, Muriel's 20 minutes and he set back to strapping on dueling boots, glanced at the clock and picked up the phone to make the international call that Operation Wilkins was in effect.

It wasn't over. It was never going to be over.

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A/N: Reviews are adored, summary for the new story below!

Lost at Sea

Summary: The war has ended and in the slowly reuniting post war wizarding world wounds are still festering and several bonds of love are put to the ultimate test. Pearl Wessels has no idea her real name is Hermione Granger, but she does know there is something rotten in the state of Denmark and is bound and determined to figure out just why she can't shake the feeling her husband didn't really die in a car accident. Bill Weasley's wife is safe and he won't get to see her again until every last Horcrux is found and this time, it's a treasure hunter on the job. Ginny Weasley's been hiding something since the end of the war, now faced with a desperate missing situation and an increasing loss of magic she is faced with her hardest choices. Muriel Prewett isn't exactly sure where she is, but is starting to think the new potions closet in her ward was a disguised vanishing cabinet and she's not all too pleased by this fact.


	35. Good Tidings

A/N: Old readers, new readers welcome! This epilogue is fluff in our occosional teary way, happy glances between our couples. Long time coming, but hey no internet means no posts! I'm taking ideas for new stories if anyone is looking to co-write something or has a pairing they're bouncing around wanting to see! There's clearly some gaps here that get explained in the sequel, but that's a hot mess so just roll with it.

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Good Tidings

"You down here, George?" Angelina called into the workroom.

"Mmmmhmm." George made a noise and kept stirring his caldron, making a note at the color change. "Almost done, angel."

She came down and perched, kicking her legs lightly in an almost nervous fashion as she watched him. He hummed as he worked, making notes in his tidy little handwriting before straightening up and coming to give her a little kiss, wrapping his arms around her. "And what brings you to my lair of mischief?"

"Well, I wanted to talk business." She winked and he perked, Angelina enjoyed hearing about his work, but rarely was motivated to be involved in the day to day. Had a particular hatred of stocking, which he couldn't quite fathom out. "You see I have an idea for a new product line."

"I'm all ear." He still said it, never finding it old and she gave him an indulgent smile. He beamed back, humming slightly under his breath and she wondered if he'd been experimenting with his humming hovers again.

"I was thinking with all the marriages that happened at the end of the war, you should focus on what comes next." She twined a finger in his hair, feeling slightly nervous, making an odd humming noise herself.

"What's that?"

"You know the rhyme, First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage." She smiled at him, seeing the business wheels turn in his head and wanting other wheels turn.

"Don't know much about what babies need these days. When I visited our hideaways baby played with anything you handed her. Bright things? Noisy things? Hermione told me to stop giving her things that beeped." He mused.

"We can do some market research." She offered.

"Yeah, I bet Remus would love a babysitter for a night. We can dig through all of his baby things and figure out how to make them better!" George said decisively, before frowning. "Do you think he left the wings on Teddy's pram? Tonks thought it was so neat, but Remus looked apprehensive about driving a pram on broomstick. Seemed to think it was dangerous. We can ask Gin."

"Might be good practice watching him." She winked at him and he paused, he paled as she spoke. "For our own market research." He broke into a huge grin, "You've got about seven months to develop and test a line for our newest littl-"

He cut her off by kissing her, completely lighting up the room with his excitement. He pulled away, "I'm thrilled." Then he looked around in a paranoid manner, "But let's get you back upstairs, no more coming down here for you, angel. This place is dangerous on the best of days and no reason for our little bun in the oven to accidentally come out as a real bun because of one of our experiments."

He pulled her and she laughed, her stomach growling. "Now I want a bun."

"You want to eat our baby? Isn't that how it got in there in the first place?" George winked at her, stealing a kiss. "Whatever you want. Now let's start talking names."

"For the line or the baby?" She couldn't stop smiling.

They fell into a happy conversation, George bopping around, unable to be still in his excitement. "When can we tell Fred? Can we surprise the heck out of him? Hit him with a flying pram?"

"I could dress up like Tinkerbell and we could kidnap him like Peter Pan." She mused, knowing full well Fred still operated under the apprehension that Peter Pan stole children because Bill had lied heavily to his younger siblings. George chortled and they were off, planning happily away.

* * *

"R, what does this say? I can't read it." He shoved the essay he was grading over, it got peered at and he got a shrug in response.

"Sort of looks like a name. Maybe just wrote whatever they were thinking?" He looked down at the pile he was working on, "The third year Hufflepuffs all need remedial spelling lessons, I don't even know what this kid is trying to write about. Do little wizarding children not learn that? What's a thurmeon?"

Charlie looked up at the knock on his door, to find a stern faced, slightly pale Headmistress. "Minerva! Do come in, tea?"

"Thank you, Charlie. Unfortunately many use the same tutor, Mr. Robinson, and spelling is not her strong point. Just annotate a spell check quill might be prudent. Taking on the classes during the full moon, is no trouble?" She came in ignoring the completely disgusted face she got in response and glanced around, she always seemed so surprised that Charlie kept Hagrid's hut tidy, a fact that never ceased to amuse him. It was if she was constantly hoping to walk in and find the truth, that Charlie was a messy man.

He stood and gave her a genuine smile. "None at all, nice break and I can keep my queen close. Actually, Minerva I've got something to ask you."

Charlie wanted to groan, but just shook his head in exasperation at Minerva, letting her know she wasn't going to like it. Minerva raised an eyebrow and Charlie sighed, pulling out a chair by the fire for her. "R it's completely moronic, you've got to listen to me. If you sit there and look contrite and keep your mouth shut you won't go to Azkaban, if you start threatening everyone like a maniac the moment anyone says a word about Ginny you will go."

He shook his head dismissively at Charlie and Minerva grabbed her usual afghan, curling it around herself, glancing at Ginny, asleep in the chair across from her. Ralph started talking, idly checking on her, getting a sleepy croon. "No it's not, Charlie. I don't have to threaten anyone, I'ma just wear Dragon King formal wear and they will all subtly remember that I have dragons that will happily destroy everything if they so much as float the idea of putting her on trial. They haven't, have they Minerva?"

She gave Charlie a look that indicated she was displeased he had not somehow managed to convince Ralph that while he could talk, he really shouldn't at his trial, not quite having a filter between his brain and mouth yet. "Mr. Robinson when you go before the Wizengoamot I'd advise you to remember one of the key things they are looking for is continued threat to the wizarding world and it's secrecy, as you're standing trial for multiple accounts of broken International Statue of Secrecy laws it would be wisest not to call attention to dragons at all. Given Ginny's condition there are no plans to charge her with anything."

Ginny's eyes had opened and she made a little roar of protest that there was nothing wrong with her, Minerva went on, "I'd also advise you to proactively mention that you have no intentions of turning anyone else into dragons, as that has become a growing concern. You've gotten goblins to testify on your behalf?"

"Yes, nasty little things. Only wanted Ginny and it was her idea to begin with, since Bill biting Charlie diluted it for him. C'mere sweetheart, let's go get you some food. Need to keep your fuel up." He scooped her out of the chair, giving them a wave and herding her out, little roars of conversation following them. Somedays she had words, somedays still just roars, but the process was ongoing and Ralph's constant cheerfulness and complete lack of repentance had him on thin ice with the Weasley matriarch.

Charlie shook his head, shoving it aside and tucking her blanket closer in concern, "He's going to be a disaster at the trial. Are you feeling better? I heard you were faint in the staff room."

She nodded, sipping her tea. "Quite well, now Professor Weasley we've got several matters to discuss."

He racked his brain, mouth rambling as it always did. "Is it about the cursing? Because I've got it down to where I only let it slip with 6th and 7th years, didn't say a word, well in English anyway, when a thestral bit me with my 3rd year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs."

"No, Charlie, it's not about your foul language." She started.

"The essay grading? It's such a practical class and I just really can't read some of their handwriting and-"

"No, Charlie, it's nothing to do with your professional performance." She gave him a tight smile, "A bit of professional advice would be to wait over try and guess by offering up your unique teaching methods."

Charlie laughed and nodded, "So what's shaking, 'Nerva? Canceling our weekend plans?"

"No, Charlie, I'm not canceling the Hogsmeade weekend." He was going to wear her down into admitting they were dating, not just enjoying a close friendship between colleagues. That was what he had with Remus, a friendship where he didn't occasionally get shaken awake and told to scamper back to his own bed before anyone saw. He knew his affections were neither unrequited nor unreturned, but Minerva's sense of propriety and professionalism had them stuck on a dance floor where he was never quite sure what music would begin to play. They were caught a flux, more than friends, less than more, caught in a 'close relationship'. He shoved it aside and held down the second sigh, drawing on what little patience he had left in him after morning classes today.

He poured himself some firewhiskey and she waved him off, sipping at her tea, seeming nervous. "Charlie, we've got two upcoming changes that need discussion."

"Is this about the dragons hatching? Two of the females will also be in heat soon, need to get them resettled back to the Welsh reserve." He made a face deciding he'd just make Ralph do it.

"Let's set that aside for now, I trust your judgement there." She fiddled with her teacup, "Though ovulation is a relevant topic. I'm no longer ovulating at this point in time, Charles."

Charlie blinked, "I've told you I don't care about the age difference, Minerva, repeatedly. Plus it's nice not to have to remember the charms."

She shook her head and looked down into her tea cup, blushing lightly. "It appears we should have been more prudent."

Charlie set down his firewhiskey, feeling shock start to rush him, she was soldiering on, "According to Poppy's estimates of how far they are, she suspects the serendipitous mix of when I took the deaging potion and the mass mating. It seems we are a part of the thousand eggs promised when they decided Ginny should be a dragon too. Rather a lot of unexpected consequences from that."

He swallowed before everything burst up in happiness, 'Their?"

"Twins." She confirmed as he was coming around the table for her, pulling her up and into his arms and a huge, reassuring hug, lifting her slightly. He could feel her heart racing against his own thumping one, twirling her before setting her down.

"I'm stoked!" He said into her hair, pecking at it. "Stoked! Babies! You and Ginny can do all of the pregnant things together!" He pulled back, grinning at her and getting a tentative smile in response, "When do you want to get married?"

Her smile froze, "Married?"

His faltered in response and he let go of her, "Well, yeah. I thought…well I assumed you'd want us to be a family."

She sat back down, words slipping out. "Charles, I'm much older than you and your boss. Think of the scandal.."

He sat down too, "So having two babies out of wedlock is less scandalous than marrying me? Not like you'll be able to keep them a secret."

"I was debating retiring, at my age with children it will be-"

"Am I in this picture at all?" Charlie demanded, feeling very hurt, feeling as if he was getting horrifically dumped. They were about to have children together and she was still hesitant about even thinking of admitting to the wider world she was with him. What did that say about him as a person? Was he so reprehensible she wouldn't even allow the babies fatherhood to be known?

She seemed to have realized what emotions she'd evoked in him, trying desperately to backtrack, hand reaching out to soothe. She'd probably been sitting with their news for hours, walking herself through every reaction and deciding on the very worst one. The one where Charles Weasley, who has rebuilt himself a life in England yet talks fondly of Romania, is going to tuck tail and run. "Of course, Charlie. I just…well I wasn't sure what you would want. You're young, want to go back to Romania and being tied down with young children would keep you here."

"And a wife." He corrected, running a hand through his hair, "I love dragons, but if you think I'd prioritize them over my own kids, you don't know me at all, Minerva." He shook his head angrily and got up to pace, "Did I hesitate when Voldemort came back to pack up and come home? No, but you think-"

"Charlie-" She started and he stopped pacing, forcing himself to swallow the rising emotions down. Teaching had finally taught him patience, giving him the ability to swallow down the hot passions that rose so easily in him. It wasn't innate or instinctual for him, but it was honed and practiced after so many trying moments with their Hogwarts keep. She paused, waiting, letting him process. It was unexpected, they were unexpected, she was off kilter from the news and just trying to wrap her head around the word pregnant. He could be calmer for her, for this steadying woman who'd launched clutch after clutch as Head of House, who with all her experience was going to be a most wonderful mother.

"Look, Minerva, you know I don't care what anyone thinks. If you're worried about scandal. Here's how that would go, there'd be a few raised eyebrows and then everyone would try to figure out how I just got so lucky to nail you down." He smiled at her softening tiny smile, "Then I'll say something off the cuff when asked and all of the wizarding world will be happy for us all the same." He tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder, "It's unexpected and wonderful, just like life."

She glanced down at his other hand tentatively going to her stomach, "I've tried to set such a good example… and now it feels like every time I've chastised students for amorous behavior is coming back at me."

"Well we're not children, so there's that, besides let them all have that moment of vindictive glory before they realize you were right. Can't really say a word without it being the pot calling the kettle black, can it? You've scolded most of the adult wizarding world and despite being strict have always been one of the most popular on staff for your fairness."

She laughed and he smiled, feeling that small swoosh of triumph that he could make her do that so easily. They were an odd mix to be sure, at first glance wildly different personalities, but many shared interests and quite a bit of deep seated similar traits that manifested differently at different life stories. He kissed her bun, before starting to pull at it's pins, "I'm a very happy man at the moment."

"Winter break." She said quietly.

"What?" He queried, still undoing the long soft hair she kept coiled up to keep out of her way.

"At my father's old church. Very small." Even quieter and he smiled into her hair.

"Anything you want, fiancee. I'll even wear a top hat if it suits your fancy." He kissed her hair again before tipping her up for a real kiss, smiling against her fake scoff.

"Charlie, do you know to take care of a child?" She asked lightly, an eyebrow raised as he moved them into a sway, a new dance they would share.

He laughed, "With five younger siblings, I'd say I had some practice. Bill and I like to joke we half raised them."

She furrowed, making her own light joke. "That's what worries me."

His laughter bellowed, "They'll have you to scold sense into them, tell them keep their feet on the ground and me to teach them to fly."

"I like that idea." She murmured it against him and it would become an oft said phrase as she fretted during the pregnancy.

He gave her a little squeeze, "I can't wait to tell everyone about the McWeasleys!"

"McWeasleys?" She asked in sheer horror, hand starting to rise to her chest.

He winked and set about explaining that each Weasley family had a different nickname so when asked how they were doing, you knew who somebody was talking about. She pointed out that everyone had first names and he argued it was more fun to call Hermione's family goblins and see her roll her eyes.

While their wedding would indeed be small and intimate, the outpouring of gifts and letters from well wishers once the news broke was overwhelming. It had been Lady Violet that did it and while they felt assaulted by owls many, many of the students came back from break bearing letters or gifts from their parents, grandparents, themselves. Sure some people thought it was a hoax article, but she swelled and he beamed and if people did indeed raise their eyebrows, they did it behind closed doors. She was not the first witch of her age to have a child, for the most part it was shut down by references to Harry's grandparents who had James decades later in life. The outpouring of well wishes overwhelmed his put together in all situations companion and she couldn't even think about it without tearing up, leading him to carry calming draughts in his pockets. She had her revenge when he'd finally been allowed in to see them all after her early labor, she was composed and he was quite the tear streaked mess. Picking names for the twins was quite the ordeal, she'd taught for decades and could always remember a student she didn't want them to resemble or he could remember a dragon that tried to kill him.

* * *

Ginny was anxiously watching him, waiting for any sign it had worked. Ralph gasped, shifting around, "Why can't I see?"

She was so thrilled a few tears leaked out as she perched herself on the bed, touching his face, "You were petrified."

"Bloody hell, this is why keeping a baby basilisk was a terrible idea. How long?" She disagreed, when he'd been only a dragon they had showered so much love on their egg they managed to wake the little thing from its long sleep without knowing and promptly ignored everyone who told them not to keep him.

"Ooofh." She gasped, grabbing his hand, this wasn't exactly how she'd wanted to tell him, but it would do. She placed it against her stomach and spoke not to him, but the other person. "You're very excited that Daddy is finally awake, aren't you? I am too."

"Oh my, oh boy! You're pregnant? Are you and the baby okay? How far along? You've been taking it easy, right? Drinking milk and shit? Wait, I can't say shit now, gotta be a good example and shit." He was rambling and blinking, teary eyes finally starting to focus as he grinned madly at feeling the little kicks. His other arm clumsily searching as he let out an excited roar, their other little dragons happily flying above the bed, roaring too, goggled basilisk flipping joyously about on the floor.

"Hush, Rob. Yes, you're gonna be a daddy. Baby and I are fine, we're 25 weeks in and I already started the nursery." She kissed him on the nose and he found her lips, kisses constantly changing because one or the other kept smiling into it, happily laughing or roaring in each others faces.

He was so startled with joy he couldn't let go of her as they got him slightly sitting. Eyes focused and he stared at her, love just flooding out, hands grazing her face and all of her. "So clutch. Ginny, you're glowing, actually glowing. Like, I think you're emitting light. I just- I love- you're so gorgeous like this. I can't wait to show everyone. Shit, don't be offended, you've always been the prettiest thing, but that's my baby in there turning you into a candle. Godric, I'm freaking out and I can't feel my legs. Why does this shit keep happening to me?"

"Ralph, you're the last to find out." She laughed at his incoherence, she'd been afraid he wouldn't like her pregnant, that it would be too much of a shock to see her softer and slightly curving. He was going to settle, Hermione had said coming out of being petrified was disconcerting and terribly confusing, she'd had a breakdown over how much schoolwork she'd missed. Then had a secondary breakdown upon hearing someone else have one. Then had a third thinking she was going to have to stay behind a year. Ginny had the fleeting thought she might need her own calming draught as it would be rather rude to wake him up and tell him she needed a nap.

"That sucks, Benji needs a new home, he'll accidentally petrify the baby. Godric, your chest got huge, like I can't look away. Am I hugging you too hard? What if the baby doesn't like me because I missed so much? Do we know what it's going to be? Shit, what if I'm a bad Dad? Gotta stop saying shit." He was still rambling and she was just so thrilled she had him back, thrilled at hearing his voice, even if there were excited little roars in there, feeling his hands, seeing him move.

"Hush." Ginny told him again, "You'll be a wonderful Daddy if one whit of how you treat your nieces and our dragons is any indication. Now take your next potion and I don't want to get rid of Benji, he's been my constant company. He didn't mean to do it to you, just a little bump in obedience training because he thought you were playing with him like you had when he was in his egg. I've got goggles on him now and he slept with you every night."

"Fantastic. Last person to find out about our baby and got basilisk cuddles. Sweetheart, I barely know what's going on and that sounds insane to me. Have I just been laying somewhere? Like did you make sure I was warm and shit? I'm going to build a crib. Do you want a bigger house?" Ramble, ramble, ramble. She shoved a calming draught at him, smoothing his hair as he downed it. "I bet my eyes are itchy because you let me get dusty, you hate dusting. Better do all of it myself so the baby doesn't get dusty."

"Ginny, get rid of the damn thing, just give it to Hagrid." Charlie said, bounding into the room, no longer able to quite stay out.

"You just signed up for lifetime dusting." Ginny told him genuinely, kissing his cheek and poking him in the thigh to see how the unpetrification was coming and if he needed a second dose, her maybe partial giant husband could be rather tricky to potion.

"You prat, you ruined my wedding photos."

"You got married?!" A breath, "Congratulations, C! I'm gonna be a dad!"

"Oh yeah, you had the stupidest look on your face when you got petrified, but I wanted you there anyway, so now every photo where we've got you propped just makes it look like you're super surprised I got married. 'Nerva is rather displeased." Charlie gave a huge grin, "I'm gonna be a dad too, sprogged her up with twins."

"Don't overwhelm him, Charlie!" Ginny scolded, he was looking so pale. "Have some chocolate, Rob, lay back down and I'll give you your next potion to undo the stiffness in a few minutes."

"You just don't want to share." Charlie blasted back, tossing himself onto the bed without abandon and poking at him at random to see where he could feel, snatching her instructions list away. Handing him a potion to down.

"You better have been taking excellent care of Ginny while I was out." Ralph demanded, making a face, but swallowing it.

Ginny patted him, "He was insufferable, refused to let me live alone once I finally admitted I was pregnant. Tried to hide it for the longest time so it wouldn't get back to Tom. You've been carted around like luggage as I got shuffled about. Your mum made me go to a muggle doctor, so I've got photos of our soon to be son in the other room."

He popped back up, "Son?! I want to see, I'm gonna make my legs work."

"Who's overwhelming him now?" Charlie asked, going to shove him back down, only to find himself stuck watching them kiss just murmuring son back and forth and decided he would go get the weird muggle photos of Ginny's insides for them. He wondered if he could get Minerva to go and get them taken or if that would be weird.

* * *

Hermione smiled at Ginny, taking a bite of her ice cream and letting it sink in as Ginny pretended to block little Angus from stealing the very special cherry from her massive sundae. Hermione frowned at her daughter, who reached over and stole it, promptly shoving it in her mouth and sticking out her tongue at her cousin and aunt triumphantly. It slipped out anyway. "Twins."

Ginny let them be, grinning back. "It'll be great! My little Fred and George are already half baked and yours are starting. They'll be extremely close I imagine, Mum will be over the moon." A pause, massive bite of ice cream, "Bill too. I know he can smell that you're pregnant, but you should surprise him. You know? Since he was so haughty about telling you."

Haughty wasn't the exact word she'd use, but Bill had been very pleased with himself on being the one to inform her she was expecting, extremely proud when they did the test and his nose was proven right. He'd wanted more kids immediately after they reunited and she'd wanted a bit of time to work, so a few years break had been taken. Still, it was exciting and she thought she and Rosie should let Daddy go nuts. "You might be right, Gin. How'd you tell Ralph it was twins? Quidditch something?"

"Didn't. He found out before me, took that fall in the quidditch match against El Salvador and the Healer told him before they got me back around." Ginny said it matter of factly. "Didn't even know I was pregnant again. Got told I was cut from the team, but he and little dragon had such big smiles."

"I tell Mumma." Angus was very proud of it and crunching on the very last of his cone.

Hermione smiled at her nephew and found that Rosie too was done, was spooning out of her bowl now. The subject matter shifted, or tried too, but Rosie wasn't to be deterred. "Daddy likes runes."

"That's a good thought, honey." Hermione agreed, Bill did enjoy rune puzzles, but Rosie was not quite at runes yet.

"Our clan can help!" Rosie was all but bouncing, she was Hermione's little goblin. Hermione had very adamantly not wanted her to be one while pregnant, had never anticipated she'd decide to come into the world in Bill's Gringotts office, but a birth on goblin grounds a goblin makes.

"I think Daddy should know first, then we can all plan how to tell the clan together. How about that?"

"Feast!" She all but yelled it and Hermione shushed her. She was Bill's child through and through, the two of them freakishly excited at all things festival or feast related, she took after him looks wise as well. She wondered how the twins would come out, for the little girl sitting next to her resembled her aunt across the table far more than herself. She almost brought it up, for Ginny's tot so far barely had a trace of Weasley in his veins. Hair just glinting a foxy red in certain lights and some facial expressions.

"We'll see, honey." They said their goodbyes, leaving the other two to debate naps nature hiking. Hermione knew she should be dropping her off back at preschool and returning to work, but a glance at her watch showed the delayed appointment made it more likely for her to be productive working at home. They discussed different ideas, Rosie often circling back around to the idea of _two_ cakes, not just one, but _two_ for two babies, two different flavors.

Bill arrived home, happily greeted by his little girl at the door, scooping her up and asking about her day. He dropped a kiss on Hermione's mouth after a twirl, "How'd the appointment go, love? So sorry I couldn't make it."

She patted his shoulder reassuringly, while exciting, it had been simply the first verification appointment with the Healer and more tagged onto Ginny's scheduled one than not. "Perfectly fine."

Rosie was dancing behind him, too excited to really wait until after dinner like they'd planned. Hermione smiled at her, "Rosie made you a special card, she liked being your substitute and was very brave about her shots."

Bill gave her an odd look, but sat down with their daughter, her settling on his other side as he opened the card where Rosie had drawn them a new family portrait complete with two blurry bundles meant to be babies, helpfully labeled 1 and 2. It clicked for Bill, him looking back and forth between both of them grinning in an overwhelmed and excited manner, unsure who to grab first, Rosie just hugging him and Hermione got her happy kiss bestowed as he requested confirmation. "Twins?"

"Twins. So you have to be twice as nice to Mummy." Hermione kissed him back, feeling his hand go down to her stomach, resting gently to cradle the very beginnings of a swell or aftermath of a large bowl of ice cream.

"Told you we'd have a set." It was teasingly said and she flashed back to their elopement, where he had indeed predicted a pair as they laughed and danced. He stole another kiss and she pulled away at the beep of the stove indicating dinner could be popped in.

"Now Rosie, how do you think we should tell-"

"-We're having a giant feast." She cut him off, rushing to get the little binder she'd been decorating to begin proper planning for her exciting announcement that she was going to be the best big sister ever. So far their binder only had paper in it, but was very thoughtfully covered in baby stickers and glitter, much to Bill's amusement.

* * *

"I look like a house. I don't want to go, I don't want everyone looking at me." Hermione whined, fixing her dress and frowning, still too frumpy. She gave Ginny a jealous glare, Ginny's figure had rebounded rapidly so her column dress hung normally, even if she did look like a carrot wearing a dragon tooth and diamond tiara.

"Everyone will be looking at the bride." Ginny cheered, shuffling her back to the chair to take the smoothing rollers out of her hair. "Or at Harry. Or at Ralph and Charlie's formal wear." A wink in the mirror. "Are you going to keep being weird with Ralph?"

She blushed lightly, it had been a horrible product mix up, the twins had left a bag of testing candy on accident. By the time Rosie had gone to get Daddy and Bill showed up to fix everyone, Hermione had hit Ralph with a partial body bind, was straddling him and was forcibly kissing him while he sobbed uncontrollably for reasons unknown. "Is he going to be weird about it? You did ask him not to tease, right?"

Ginny shrugged, "Doubt it, he's more apt to be cross with Harry. You and Harry have to just stop apologizing on repeat. I wonder if there's a charm for that?"

"It wasn't Harry's fault!" Hermione immediately started and Ginny waved her mouth shut. For while she was inside on top of Ralph, little Angus and James wanted to show Harry salamander eggs, Ginny's cookie had her giggling uncontrollably while the two Harry had eaten resulted in a passion charm and aggression charm. His anger at Ginny's giggling rejections uncontrollable until he was very roughly handling her.

"Oh, I know that, but Angus is too little to understand what really happened, so he's a bit afraid of Harry now. Told me I have to stay with him or Daddy. He's going to protect Rosie himself." She fluffed Hermione's hair, "You know, if you do try and jump Ralph again, I don't blame you, his dragon wear gets me hot and bothered."

"I'm a little too pregnant for any of that, Gin." She was at the point where she was very ready for sleepless nights due to hungry babies over this discomfort.

Bill came in, peering at the row of babies that were napping on the bed by them. "Much to my sadness. Ron's only going to get married once, love. Whose kid is that?"

"She's a harpy." Ginny and Hermione said and quite frankly, she had no idea whose baby it was, Fred had just tucked the little sleeper next to Ginny's napping infants and left snickering at their dresses. Bill too was forced into becoming a living, breathing embodiment of an ugly carrot just like his sister. Ralph had wrangled out of it, telling the bride it would be much more impressive if he dressed like the dragon king he was and add a royal feel to the wedding. He'd use the horrendous shade of orange on his runes and Hermione wondered if the elegant bride had actually seen Ralph and Charlie's dragon formal wear, it looked more scarily barbaric than royal. Bill had then tried to say he could wear his goblin armor and been rejected, though he was allowed his beloved axe. Their daughter was spared, massively excited about being flower girl and constantly practicing.

"So is Ron." Bill joked lightly, "Except he doesn't turn into an actual harpy and throw fireballs at people. Just keep doing your hair, love."

"I'm doing it. Hermione decided she's not wearing the horrific bird fascinator." Ginny corrected pointing at the dreadful thing that reminded her of Augusta Longbottom's hat, "Bill will you check my back? See the paint isn't smeared? How's Ralph's coming?"

Bill glanced and Hermione leaned back to take her own peek, Ginny's back had been painted, her hair carefully curled and pinned to look as if it was fire coming from the rising dragon's mouth, covering the massive tattoo Tom had put there and she hated. "Dean and Charlie are working on him and he's painting Angus. Love, Rosie is in a tizzy because Angus is getting his face painted and-"

"Something small, we can always wipe it off before the wedding." Hermione decided, Rosie was being excitable, nervous and shy about her big role. Somewhere along the line Bill and the grandmums had mellowed her on motherhood, putting aside plans for the tiny little pleasures. "Little hearts next to her eyes would be cute."

"Minerva is putting a unicorn on Teddy's cheek as we speak, they were arguing about matching when I came up. Gin, Dean said thanks for doing the outline."

"Easiest that way-" before pausing at a sight by the doorway. "Angus, who was stupid enough to give you pudding? Was it Daddy?" Ginny demanded, completely annoyed that her little toddler in his little dragon prince get up was covered in chocolate pudding.

"Daddy said no." Her husband, also completely covered in chocolate goop said, grabbing after him. "Don't touch Mumma's dress." He gave her a huge, proud grin. "He magicked it."

"That's against Gamp's Laws of-" Hermione started, but Ginny had already dropped to the ground and was giving little thrilled kisses.

"Did my little dragon do big magic? Mumma's so proud." She glanced up at Hermione, pudding on her face, grinning happily. "Tell that to my perfect little magical prodigy, Hermione."

"Babies want pudding?" He asked, very excited at all of the attention and Hermione backed away from Little Angus who was still being contained, Ginny now excitedly giving her pudding covered husband a kiss, mumbling at him about she knew that wives tale about why you have a squib was fake in an extremely relieved way.

"No dragon, the babies are too little for pudding." Ralph told him, flinging pudding about trying to get it off of the various dragon teeth and bones he had slung on in a sash, "They can't eat like you yet."

Little Angus was not heading for the babies on the bed and went for his mother's stomach. "One baby." Kiss. "Two baby." Chocolate everywhere. "Three baby."

"Mumma's not having a baby. We just had them, love." She bent down and told him, but looked a little nervous and glanced at her husband, who was looking at the ground in thought, mouthing words to himself.

"Three babies." Her toddler argued adamantly, his next crooned words unintelligible to Hermione, but clearly not his parents.

Ginny and her husband's eyes widened, both letting out the whistling croon they used instead of cursing these days. Hermione did the basic spell and sure enough there was a glow there. Bill gave her a grin, "Ron may rethink having you two be the fertility bearers at his wedding now."

Hermione chose not to rub it in Ginny's face that all of her teasing about how she was going to have little Fred and George's on her hands had come back to her in spades. Ginny seemed to be realizing it herself, looking over at the two tiny infants she had snuggled on the bed, her toddler, back to her stomach on repeat, voice panicked as she looked at Ralph. "We might have five kids in the same year at Hogwarts."

Ralph wrapped an arm around her, also covering her in pudding, probably slightly stabbing her with all of the dragon teeth he was wearing, hand going to rest on their new clutch additions. "It'll be great, Gin, they can keep each other in line. You loved having your brothers at school."

"But what if they can't all be on the quidditch team?"

"What if they don't want to?" It was whispered back as they descended into their little crooning language and special world, faces covered with excited if very daunted smiles as the eldest little dragon was lifted up to join in the happiness.

She turned from the pudding family having a soft moment, eyeing Angus speculatively for now, she did want chocolate pudding. She rose, giving them space and headed down the stairs whispering to Bill what she wanted. There was no pudding in the rented house, which explained the pudding making and he went back up to fetch the little dragon who could give her and Rosie pudding. Joking lightly that since Ginny's dress was already ruined there was no reason hers too couldn't have an accident. She and Rosie got very speculative then, Rosie pointing out she and Aunt Gigi had the pretty dresses from Uncle Fred's wedding so they could still match.

* * *

Ginny was perched in their window seat and glanced over to see where Ron was looking, slightly melancholy look on his face. She followed his gaze and held down her own sadness, it was pointed at Ralph, their boys fighting over who got the king of the mountain spot of riding on his shoulders over having to hang onto belt loops or hold hands like _babies_ for the fishing trip _._ She smiled at him and touched her courtship pin to get a dimpled smile in response as his squad of Father's Day admirers continued their battle. Just like every year, they'd have their little campout, claiming they got Daddy all day and asked her to go away because she was _ruining_ it. She wasn't sure who liked Father's Day more, her or him, she got to relax, go to the spa and he'd be exhausted, but smiling madly when she showed him her nails. She'd loved him when he was just a boy, when he was a dragon and found that loving him as a father was effortless, something their little clutch enthusiastically agreed with.

She turned back to her brother, feeling a bit melancholy from their not so subtle, spying spot. She hoped this wasn't the year Mumma wouldn't be invited back to the campout and glanced over, she had her bag ready, full of all the left behind stuffies and blankets. "Ron, Ralph and I have been thinking."

"Didn't know the two of you could do that. About what?" He looked back at her, no rancor in his words, just a light tease. Away from Ralph bellowing at the twins to use the water bucket and stop fighting with their flaming skewers, all of them ignoring him until he started to threaten there would be no scary stories, not a _single_ one unless everything on fire was in the water bucket by the count of five.

"Don't worry, it can't actually burn them." She paused, feeling very shy, "I know you two have been trying everything and that it's too hard for her to carry the baby. You two can use my womb if you'd like, not like if it has your blood I'll have any issues." Not exactly how she'd wanted to start the conversation, no graceful words, just the boiled down simplicity of the situation. Ron was giving her a very blank, slightly welling of eyes look and she rambled earnestly on, "You know, carry the baby for you two, pregnancy for me is easy, even with the triplets. I like it, my hair gets long and I get to take as many naps as I want. Worst part is when I can't see my feet and get paranoid about my shoes, but Ralph makes sure they match everyday."

She didn't particularly like Ron's veela wife, but neither she or Ron could help the fact their blood didn't work together, the same reasons long ago Bill and Fleur's latch had gone so terribly wrong. Ron was in a sea of isolation in their extended family even if he was surrounded by a mass of nieces and nephews who clobbered over time with their aunt and uncle. It had been Ralph who sparked it, coming back in after soothing one of the ones who had dragon pox, crawling into their nest with the sleepily murmured joke, "How many can we give to Ron?"

He'd probably expected her to grunt and rollover, likely hoping he could curl up and reclaim the covers and pillows she'd immediately stolen. She did roll over, but to mutter something back and alight the idea. They talked all night about it, her heart just shaking at seeing him with kids on his hips as he paced and swayed to soothe them through the fevers. Ron too should have the sick nights, the long nights, the moments when they still want to be carried in a cuddle even though they are big boys. It hadn't been an instant decision, one revisited and floated about in their less sleep deprived moments. Ron and his wife had tried to adopt, but in the end, the mother chose to keep her child and the nursery was packed away in a smothering, drowning silence. The heartbreak so overwhelming they decided to stop trying, they just simply could not survive another almost baby of their own. It had crystallized for her and Ralph in a glance, sitting next to their wand nicking St. Mungo's needing little dragons waiting to be called and stumbling across Ron and his wife leaving from volunteering in the nursery. She'd left the boys with him and gone and gotten a pamphlet on surrogacy, thinking she should go grab it now.

Ron hugged her, to hide his emotion and she felt her own tears well up, voice choked and barely more than a teary whisper, giving him the highest compliment she could. "You're the most like Dad, you know."

"Thanks." It was choked back. He and Ginny had been very much a duo growing up, the youngest, the ones who felt most invisible at school. Their father had been such a steadying rock, he had not possessed Bill's innate coolness, Charlie's athleticism, Percy's drive or the twins prankful popularity. He had been like Ron, just a guy, slightly unsure of himself, who did the best he could and kept fighting for what he believed in.

"I'm serious, Ron. Any kid would be lucky to have you as a father." She gave him a squeeze, "Just promise to sneak them extra chocolate frogs when she's not looking."

Ron laughed in a choked fashion, "I'll make sure they get Dad's card, yours too." He let go, looking at her, "Are you serious, Ginny?"

She nodded and Ralph barreled in, "Gin, will you order pizza? They've just tipped the beans and anything they're trying to cook over the fire will be inedible. They're just-" flailing hand movements to describe excited small children trying to cook sausages over a bonfire.

She wiped her eyes and Ralph stopped his demonstration in concern, glancing at Ron before relaxing and tugging her into a hug, baritone softening. "Thought you wanted to tell them together."

"Couldn't wait." She murmured it, using his shirt to settle the tears she didn't want to fall, trying to zero in on what type of pizzas she should get to make the teariness go away, while taking in his nice bonfire smell and sneaking a glance at their clutch.

"Ralph are you alright with it?" Ron had settled, had a very nervous smile on his face and it filled her with joy, she knew the answer for the dragon rubbing her back, how huge his heart was and how happy the response would make her brother.

"His idea." Ginny squeezed her other half, not giving him a chance to formulate a response. "He knows the feeling from when he was a full dragon who would trade anything for a clutch."

Ralph shrugged, whispering pizza topping combination reminders for the anti-mushroom side of their family. It settled her further, the familiar annoyance that came with him doing this every time, as if she could possibly forget they had mushroom meltdowns and he would meticulously pick them off his own pizza, placing them accusingly on her plate. He was not dwelling on mushrooms or the idiosyncrasies of married life, but very genuine in his answer with a glance out at his dragons. "Ron, it's Father's Day. It's a pretty in your face reminder that you're one lucky king and if we can give you that, why not? Besides, most of our married life Gin's been pregnant, I'm used to it. Just let me come eat cheese at your house, I'll get banned because she thinks I'll eat all of it and it's her midnight snack-"

"You did it once!" She teased and Ron smiled as Ralph ran back to the calls demanding his presence and to yell at them to use the water bucket. While it wasn't technically Ron's first Father's Day, he and his wife would feel as though it was. Ginny would smile at seeing them excitedly whispering when they were all admitted to the campout for scary story and pizza time. See the looks of love as some of her boys piled onto their aunt and uncle, in case _they_ got scared, clutching at them discreetly when the stories made her little ones wide eyed. The two of them so excited all of them would have their first surrogacy appointment at St. Mungo's two days later and by the next year, there were two dads at the Father's Day campout and two Mums sitting on the window bench watching and waiting to be allowed back as they discussed pizza toppings.

* * *

"Thanks for taking the time to help us get resettled in." Ralph said yet again as they pulled back into their place from dropping the boys off at muggle camp, Remus opted not to continue the cycle of thanking him for having them as guests in their other home across the world. It had been a nice visit even if he now had a son begging for his own goats, making haphazard plans to find a lost one, trick Dad into thinking it needed a home. He was young, did not understand you shouldn't leave your masterplans laying about for everyone to find or base arguments for pets on how impressive their beards are.

"You all watch him most moons." He responded thankfully, "Ginny back on her feet?"

An exasperated noise, "She says she is, but the doctor said she's supposed to be on bedrest. The airport poltergeist apologized, he'd just wanted to scare the boys, not have them knock her down the stairs. He's going to scare people in her honor to make up for it. The boys feel terrible, very focused on making it up to Mumma. You'll see what I mean."

He unpacked huge bags from the boot and they went in. Ginny was curled on the couch with a book and scone, surrounded by more stuffed animals and chocolate wrappers Remus had ever seen, flowers with child drawings taped around the vases stuck around her. Ginny eyed the bags, giving him a half aside greeting. "Hi Remus, sorry about the mess. Ralph…."

"It's not all pink!" He got immediately defensive and Remus watched a grown man upturn a bag full of pink and glittery things onto his wife to prove his point and start excitedly digging, "Look! Socks with little purple raptors on them. The boys found the raptor line and found all sorts of different dinosaur shirts for themselves, so you can't make me return any of that. We even got you one, but there weren't any in my size."

"Congratulations! I bet everyone is thrilled." It was genuinely said as he caught a dinosaur dress for him to view, feeling a pang, watching Ginny smile excitedly at her husband, patting him to console his lack of dinosaur clothing options. They had been done with children, dismantled the nursery and here they were with a lucky number seven and the long wanted little lady. They shared a glance and Ginny flung aside the mess of pink and her book.

"Nobody knows yet." Ginny was almost nervous, Ralph heading for the firewhiskey. "We wanted to talk to you first."

Confused he sat, took his offered glass as Ralph settled back with Ginny, smashing down on a baby tutu and flinging little ballet flats aside, "We only found out on accident, due to the fall, but we'd always said if we ever had a girl we wanted-"

Ginny cut him off, just blurting it out. "We'd like to name her after Tonks."

There was a pause and he tried to compose himself as Ginny rambled on, "She's who got us together, who put me on a plane, who hassled Ralph about addressing his feelings and when he wouldn't do it, just forced a courtship." She took a sip of her tea, ignoring her mate's beginning of a protest. "Remus, I looked up to her so much from the day I met her. You knew she was in a room, she knew you were there too no matter how insignificant you felt, mattered a lot when I was so young." She struggled and was passed tissues, "She was such a dear friend, giver of advice, a huge light in the darkness during the war."

She lost it, Ralph pulling her closer as Remus' own heart ached at the blackhole that would never be a star again, the wound that would never knit and scar into something resembling normal. Ralph was calmer, just as moved for he too was a man who'd spurned the thought of love due to his circumstances and found his heart really didn't care what his head thought. Ralph and Ginny had been there the day he met Dora, when the harsh pull behind his navel did not mean apparition, it meant mate. Had been chatting and joking with Sirius as Remus world changed and he tried to discreetly observe the young woman giving him looks whenever she thought he wasn't looking.

Ralph wasn't dwelling on a day that had no impact on his life, was focused in the present and conveying everything properly as Ginny still seemed to be struggling with her feelings. "Only if you're comfortable with it, of course. I know how Tonks felt about her name. We'd love for you to help us pick another name, if that's easier, and consider being her godfather. We'll be thrilled if our little one is half the witch or half as happy as she was."

He took a very long drink and warred within himself, it would be another visceral reminder of her absence, another sip, but he already felt it every day. Maybe saying her name regularly would help him heal too, would make it easier to talk to Teddy about her. "I'd be honored, I think Dora Robinson has quite the ring to it."

Ginny let out a happy squeal, lunging at him exclaiming that was exactly the first name they wanted, but she had made lots of alternatives in case she had to sneakily name the baby after her anyway. She wasn't letting go, just clutching as she sniffled and he tried to get her off in a kind fashion, "Have you two started the nursery? I'd love to see it."

She let go, grabbed him by the hand and started dragging him, "We've moved stuff out of the room, but as Godfather your first task is to help me control Ralph's new pink obsession. She's not here yet and she's already got a pink parasol, rainboots for a baby that won't be able to walk, yes Ralph I see you gearing up, I agree they are adorable, but I want to get her things too and you're keeping me trapped."

So he admired the very cute tiny rain boots and matching slicker. Glanced around and decided Ginny was not wrong in the idea Ralph needed an intervention. Charitably deciding he'd gone nuts because they'd yet to tell anyone and with Ginny resting had stepped up to the shopping plate. He shared the first story of his wife in a long time, "I used to call Dora my rainbow. She loved them, we would sit out and watch storms just to see them and for me, well, she was that unexpected happy splash of color in my gray existence."

Ginny gave a soft smile, "She had a little song she'd sing Teddy when he was fussy, about rainbows popping her hair for each color."

Yes, he knew it well, heard 'hush little rainbow and let's see what we can be' often, watched her face scrunch as she slowly changed her hair and his followed suit as she sang the colors, heard Severus trying to sing it to his little charge with failed results. Ginny hadn't stopped, "Ralph do you want to give him your stuff for Teddy now? I'm not done with mine."

"Sweetheart, that was supposed to be a secret." He admonished, shuffling her back to the couch to follow muggle doctor's orders and relented at her look. He sighed, turning to explain. "Charlie knows Teddy will be stared at when he starts Hogwarts and a night out with our schoolmates prompted the Dora Lupin project. We're all trying to write down or give memories of Tonks by year, to sort of help him understand who she was and how she handled it. How it was for her in school, so it might feel a bit like she's still there to share it with. Thought we'd give it to you in advance of his letter and you'd decide whether he got it at once or before each year."

Remus was again swallowing down the strong emotions, for it was something he fretted about in the late hours of the night, the extra attention Teddy would have from being a metamorphmagus and werewolf teacher's son. The fact there would be no Mum to write chatty letters or guide him through it, just his aunts who all treated him like he was theirs, he'd get plenty of letters from Ginny and Hermione, but none that could speak to being metamorphic and having it flare with temper. Ralph was shooed off to go get something to show him and he was interrupted in his musings by Ginny thanking their tiny dragons for bringing snacks and telling them she was allowed to leave the couch. He spent a lot time with Harry's family, they ate dinner with Bill and Hermione's bunch at least once a week, but the Robinsons too were constant friends. Teddy, Rosie and Angus rarely going a day without having some sort of engagement, camp this week, dental appointments next Monday.

 _When I got to Hogwarts I didn't really grasp what Charlie had sort of warned me of, that my not coming from a magical family meant a lot of kids just weren't going to like me, were going to stare at me. This was right after the end of the First War and they'd grown up under You-Know-Who's indoctrinating regime, so as an adult I can't really blame them, but man did it suck being the only muggleborn in the lower years. My first conversation with Dora was after a particularly horrific lesson where I had been the target of repeated questions of things magical kids knew, but I did not so just kept getting docked points for incorrect answers and running off at the mouth. There was some sort of picnic happening and she came over to where I was just trying to lurk it off by myself, because my normally chill housemates were mad about how many points I'd just lost. Eat my sandwich in peace, hoping the rest of the day would be better. She made it that way, plopped down next to me and reached over to physically sort me, "Chin up, Robinson. Could have been worse, at least you could identify the horse."_

 _"Surprised you even know my name." It was a bit bitterly said, but outside of our common room some of my classmates would pretend not to hear me if I said anything._

 _"Everyone knows it, just like they know mine. Not like you're the only magical misfit." She offered me a bite of her apple and shrugged, "My dad is like you, muggleborn, so are a bunch of other people's parents, just nobody talks about it. You just get riled up easily." She took a few bites, while I continued to feel out of sorts. "Don't let the purebloods get under your skin, because that would just be really gross."_

 _It made me laugh, "Doubt they'd want to get that close to me. Just need to learn how to hex, someone tried to put Charlie's brother down over being a blood traitor and he made bats come out of his nose."_

 _"Bat bogey hex." She said instantly, "Ohhh, I'ma ask Bill to show me it, never seen it myself, but my Mum said it was a Molly Weasley speciality. Used to play over there when I was small. Is that corned beef? It was all gone by the time I got here."_

 _It's unclear if I offered her half of my sandwich or she just took it, but I had my first friend outside of Gryffindor and when we got to Herbology a new planter companion. There would be a lot of moments like that over the years, where one of us had taken a teasing, had a rough lesson or quidditch loss, a lot of 'Chin up' and shared corned beef sandwiches sitting in the kitchens….._

Remus shuffled parchment to hide his discomposure, catching a glance of another phrase on a page tagged 2nd year, Hospital Wing. _She's been told the only reason she's metamorphic is because she's so ugly naturally nobody will ever want her. She's sitting by my bed, eating my candy and keeping me company as I heal up. You see, I'm in the hospital wing because I got so mad I forgot I had a wand and started a brawl with the sixth year Slytherins who said it, but as Dora keeps reminding me on the plus side a few of them are in beds too. Dora did not forget she had a wand, but she did throw a few punches because even Slytherins didn't hit little girls._

He'd read them later, Ralph looked nervous, "Um, some of it is pretty real, both from memory and watching it in the pensive. Just let me know if you want any of it rewritten, sort of why we started writing now, you know? Got to curate it, the Hufflepuffs went nuts, there's about a huge textbook of recollections for each year so far. Half of it is random, somebody literally just wrote out her breakfast routine. We don't want to overwhelm him, but want to help him know her as we did."

He needed a long walk, taking the chocolate Ginny was offering him with a nod of thanks. "I'm sure Teddy and I will devour it all, but I'll coordinate with Charlie during term." A confession slipped out, "His recollections are what I'm most worried about."

Ralph nodded, "He's not writing about their relationship, if that's what you're worried over. He was blunt about the fact he didn't want to revisit it and thought doing so would be disrespectful to his wife and your marriage. Other people are still chronicling their awkward lead up, relationship and her amusement at him turning into a flustered fool around her for ages."

"I know the feeling, perhaps not quite to the excruciating point as only a teenager can, but Teddy will have to deal with that too." He decided he'd have to think on the issue, he hadn't dated really in school, but had a feeling his more outgoing son would be bolder. He didn't think Charlie writing about it would be disrespectful, but also knew Charlie had cared very deeply for her and too might not want to shove the poker in his heart. His recollections were based on James and Sirius, and being a professor who would know whoever his crushes were, leading him to think he wasn't going to be the first person Teddy asked for dating advice. If he had to lay money, he'd bet on him going to Bill, also different looking who had somehow gotten Hermione, whom his son had always sought approval from.

Ginny let out a yawn and he rose, time to get over what he'd promised to help them with and take his leave. "Where's the infestation? The twins room?"

Ginny nodded, very apologetic again. "Thank you. Ralph's highly allergic to them because he didn't catch any of the childhood magical sicknesses until he was older and everyone is trying to keep me prisoner on the couch or in our nest, so I can't go sort it."

She looked hopeful he would back up her stance of being perfectly fine, but her dragon's gaze had a very clear indication Ginny was going to be kept resting on the couch whether she liked it or not. He wasn't going to rock the boat, had seen the same look on James face once upon a time when he and Lily were in disagreement on what the Healer had meant by 'lots of rest and limited activities'. He executed his escape plan. "You should rest, enjoy the spoiling. I'll just go sort them."

He paused at the nursery on his way up, at the light pink and pieces of crib against the wall. Remus pulled his wand, it took a little finagling, but he wrote Dora for the first time in years across the wall, charming the script to slowly change colors. It was both an internal dedication to his beloved wife and welcome to the goddaughter his son would surprise everyone by insisting he also be godfather of, carrying the baby precariously out of the ceremony to a double rainbow.

* * *

Hermione glanced up in panicked horror at the sound of an explosion, an old visceral memory of a night the world was full of them rushing her. She forcibly relaxed herself at seeing Bill covered in soot, holding their twin giggling little gnomes that he had been trying to take from Grandmum's for misbehaving. He gave her a look and she very primly decided not to tell him I told you so. He had kept saying they would be nice children, they would not be just like his brothers, they would be like them, quiet respectful things. "I'll clean them up if you'll fix the fireplace."

The bath it seemed would also not work and as Hermione stood with Molly trying to repair the fireplace, there were little squeals as her children fled from their father. It was Mrs. Weasley who stilled her broom, glancing out the window. "Don't miss moments like this."

So Hermione went to the window with the older woman, watching her husband chase them around shooting jets of water and soap at them, their little squeals of delight and screams for assistance from their cousins and siblings. Took the glass of sherry Mrs. Weasley told her she was going to need to manage them. Watched as Charlie was called in for Bill's reinforcements and shot jets of water at the other little children, laughed as Fred and George pretended to help their brothers before going turncoat and siding with the children and started blasting their brothers with water. Rolled her eyes at the spectacle of the Robinsons arriving via dragon, their various sons sliding down dragon wings to almost drill sergeant like calls of "Go, go go! Goggles to Mum."

They started running for the game, Ginny screaming at them, "Get back here and say thank you to your ride."

She came inside, carrying a pie, Her husband following covered in various snack bags, hauling two massive coolers. "Sorry we're late, somebody blew up the floo network so we had to bring the dragon, faster than the car. Oooh, I think Angus is getting the gnomes to help them. Sic em on Uncle Charlie, dragon boy!"

Angelina smiled from beside her, "There's so many of them, I don't think team Daddy stands a chance now that George has armed them with fake wands." She gave Ginny a sympathetic glance, "I thought they were waiting, wanted to get the new one settled in? So incredibly nice of you to carry for them."

Ginny glanced down and gave them a sheepish smile, "Not Ron's, ours again. Turns out we get a lucky number seven."

"Ginny!" Her mother exclaimed, but then promptly got distracted by the taking down and capture of Charlie who was howling madly in protest. They'd taken their yearly wintering down under after Ginny's birth of the surrogate child she wasn't even allowed to hold, showing back up once the weather was nicer with Ginny rocking quite the bump.

Hermione squeezed Ginny's shoulders in congratulations, hugging her, she'd missed her heavily. "I thought you two were done having kids? Or needed a break."

"We took a champagne break, you know how I get on that stuff." Ginny told her, Alicia and Angelina out of the side of her mouth, before loudening, "Minerva, just leave Charlie, he's fine. Been gnomed down before."

"Is Remus here yet?" Ginny asked pulling her aside, all but bursting at the seams with excitement.

"Not yet, think he's coming with the Potters. Why?" Hermione asked quietly, watching Ginny rest her hand on her stomach feeling a small twinge of wanting another at her sheer excitement.

"He's going to make the announcement for us, we're naming her after Tonks." Hermione let out a squeal, slamming her hand on her mouth. Ginny was grinning crazily back at her, finally, finally Ginny was getting a daughter. "Lucky number seven, Ralph's gone pink obsessed."

Hermione felt her eyes get wet, Remus still barely spoke about his wife, had told Bill quietly it was the price of sharing such a mating bond. "I think he'll be honored. He'll probably push back on Nymphadora, he badgered Harry into just using his name as a middle name."

"He picked just Dora, Ralph wants Dora Melanie since it's sort of like our Mum's names put together, the boys have declared they are picking the middle name or names, Bunny is the current favorite. Ralph cringes every time he hears it, bet Harry would love it though." Ginny tried and failed not to roll her eyes and Hermione commiserated, Harry's children all had very meaningful names, but put in the worst possible combinations he could imagine. It had taken a monumental effort to convince him that his daughter did not need to be named Hedwig-Lily Hermione Potter, that it was a nice thought, but utterly ridiculous to do to a little girl and she'd been slightly incensed she was behind his owl. Reminding him perhaps his wife knew some people she'd like to name their children after. He'd then decided Petunia Lily Potter had a nice ring to it and Hermione thought her head was going to explode and enlisted all Weasley males to start betting off naming their children again. Charlie had been very thoughtful in his choices for her eldest. "Earth to Hermione!" Ginny waved in her face. "What do you think? Need your backup on it, just in case. He gave me that one croon, you know? The one that is both incredulous and means no matter how hard I try I'm not going to get my way."

Hermione nodded in commiseration, but knew exactly what she was talking about. "Bill's got that growly tone. Err, I think you guys should talk to Remus maybe he and Teddy would like to help the boys pick." She kept trying for diplomatic as Ginny despite her eye roll at Harry, had a love for unusual names herself and a husband who'd convinced her they were much better suited for characters in her novels, made them more compelling and therefore sort of saved his children. "Perhaps there was a name they had picked out for a daughter he might prefer using."

Ginny smiled, "Hadn't crossed my mind, but it's perfect. Thanks, Hermione! Ohh, what was that?"

They rushed out and Hermione looked around in confusion trying to see what Ginny heard. It came a few seconds later as quite a bit of accidental magic was going on as the Potters and Lupins arrived. Ginny glanced down at her stomach in concern, "You better not be thinking of bumbling around time like your Mumma here. Not allowed."

Hermione felt her insides pale and kept her face straight, every prophecy in regards to Ginny that had been acted on or attributed to her, would just as equally fit the daughter she carried now and a future threat. Voldemort had not been the first and she doubted he'd be the last to use the title The Dark Lord. She made a quick mental note to pull them at the office on Monday, reread them, double check, talk with Bill about if what she thought was true what they should do. Then she did what she'd so long envied in Bill, she compartmentalized it and shoved it away, focusing back in on the very immediate present. Ron and his wife had arrived, their little love in his arms, him blissfully not seeing the warning look she shot Ginny.

All had been well until the baby started veela blasting and they'd had their infertility dragged into the public eye and Ginny had endured months of horrid rumors about an affair with Harry after he derailed a speech into a massive love confession while getting slammed with a blast. Felt very vindicated when the little one came out with feathers, proving the baby's veela heritage and that no, it was not Harry or Ginny's child. Ron's wife blamed Ginny for the disturbance and public exposure into their life, Ron and Ralph had shared some harsh words over it, and she barely even let Mrs. Weasley hold him. She was as protective as Griphook had once been about the sword of Gryffindor, as Bill had said once after offering to hold the little bundle while she cooked dinner and been very firmly shut down. Ron passed off the baby and headed outside at the shouts for his help from the adults.

She looked at Ginny, upset words slipping out. "Why? You said we could have them close together."

Angelina raised an eyebrow, dispelling the growing tension. "They have six kids, don't think abstinence is their strong suit."

Alicia grinned at her, wiggling her eyebrows at the pantry suggestively. "Having stumbled across them going to grab extra jam I can attest to that. I wasn't keen on being just a year younger than my sister. Harder with teachers and making your way."

Ginny was clearly furious and stormed away, Ron's wife rushing after her to probably make enough amends Ginny would still carry another child for them. Hermione started a loud conversation about the next family jam making day to try and drown out the frustrated sounds on both sides of the argument.

Team Daddy did not win, they were eventually overrun, taken down like giants and tackled, children crowing triumphantly and when Hermione finally went out to save Bill from being dragged into the ocean there were no scars on his face, only laughter as he called for parlay as he had sometime during the battle become a pirate. Hermione laughed as her eldest demanded his pirate credentials and obligingly agreed that the jewelry she was wearing was indeed from Daddy's stolen treasure, for truthfully some of it was, and set about negotiating her husband out of the custody of his little captors.

She curled against Bill that night comfortably, his fingers braiding her hair out of his way as he did most nights, finally succumbing to learning after they had a daughter. "So how did you end up a pirate?"

"Rosie and I were reading earlier and she asked for clarification on what swashbuckling was. Then asked during the battle if I was doing what the book said, not really having a clue what she was talking about, just said yes. That was that, you should be ashamed of me, love. Charlie declared himself the captain immediately and it was too risky to stage a mutiny, so you're stuck with the first mate tonight."

"Who's currently in my brig, see I bartered you away into my custody." She teased, and felt his fingers start to rub her shoulders.

"Hmmm, all I heard was that now I have to build our children a pirate ship." He whispered it lightly, breath warm against her ear as she let out a little sigh of relief at the knot going out.

"And teach them nautical navigation and knot tying. You've got a busy summer ahead of you, prisoner." She lightly reminded him, pleased at the feeling of his thumbs riding the edges of her spine, "I just have to get them little captain hats and make some maps for the treasure we're going to hide."

He laughed and she had the same small niggle, "Bill, are we doing it wrong? I mean-"

"Relax, love. Rose loves muggle school and our children are built to learn, what does it hurt that we make it fun? They'll learn orienteering from your maps and I think we both know that our fun library books this week will be sea faring focused. We'll work out our thought differences together, you learned languages through structured lessons, I learned them through my parents refusing to speak to me in English during language sprints and offering pronunciation help or flipping through the little language dictionary I had. We should practice that translation charm, actually, because I'm pretty sure there's no way Mum had any clue what I was trying to actually say half the time."

"Bill, I love you, but they are not learning pirate." She leaned against him as he made a noise indicating the ship had already sailed on that and she had the absurd thought that when she checked on them the twins would have an eye patch and a stump leg. Today had reminded her how incredibly lucky she was, that even when work stressed, even when tensions arose, they lived in a house built on love and partnership and felt his portion of their bond flare in response.

* * *

"Bill?" She asked in confusion looking at the hallway with furniture all over the place. "What happened?" She sighed, "What did they do now?"

"They're gone, can't possibly have done anything." He grinned at her as he started to get more hyper, "Sleepaway at your parents, though the school asked if we can meet next week. They didn't specify about which one, but Wes didn't say a word as we walked back. That's never good."

"My fault, I muggle jinxed him at breakfast when we both said toast." She relaxed and gave him a smile, feeling slightly guilty, but also amused. She fretted over him the least, her charming, outgoing goblin named son, who had somehow convinced them Wesley Weasley was a name destined for coolness. One half of her night and day twins she secretly feared would be sorted separately when the time came, for Wes' easy likability had carried his brother's shy nature into every friendship they had. She opened her mouth to bring it up again, but Bill's intense energy had him flinging more furniture about with his wand in crashing noises.

She took a deep breath, sniffing the air and smelling he'd started her very favorite dinner, spotted a bottle in their little wine chiller. Started running dates through her head, trying to make sure she wasn't missing an anniversary, half anniversary, random something. "What brought this bout of romance on?"

He came over and took her bag off her shoulder, removed her jacket and tucked it on their coat rack and gave her a gentle smile. He took her hand and led her up through the mayhem he'd created, furniture out of place, scattered across the hallway. His apology soft. "Come. Thought you'd be home later." His voice anticipatory and nervous, "It's not quite done."

She followed slightly in confused, Bill did not do things small, wondering if it was yet another bed or carving on the headboard. He opened the door to the twins' room and she gasped, tears immediately coming to her eyes. He knew, he always knew. It was not the room it had been, it was their nursery again, minus a bunk bed for the current inhabitants. She looked up at him. "Bill?"

He kissed her forehead, "You've been wanting another one so badly since Ginny announced even if you haven't said it. Their excitement is infectious, made me want another baby too and we've only got half of the number of kids they do."

Hermione didn't say anything too overwhelmed, yes she wanted another very badly, watching her own children rush over to see if the baby moving was very conflicting on her heart. Bill went on. "We've got the love to spare."

She smiled into his chest, then frowned, "Bill, you just took the new job since we've got them all into school and-"

"-And we both know how much the goblins love children. No worries there, I'm a very well respected goblin for my progeny."

"Stop it. You are not a real goblin." Hermione scolded and teased, he was, her children loved their goblin family just as much as their biological ones, crowed to their cousins about all of their extra holidays.

Bill laughed, "Hermione, they adore you and our children and are incredibly kind to us." A kiss into her hair, "Plus, you are the lucky rabbit foot."

She laughed, she had hated all of the goblin touching during her first pregnancy and tried for years to find an alternate reason, which she found, for why quite so many new goblins came into the world not very long after. Still, she was almost an urban legend in their clan and had time set at the Ministry to take tea once a week with any goblin ladies trying. "I know biscuit, but is Daddy ready for more sleepless nights?"

"I'm a pro at it. Let's do it." He grinned at her and she decided that yes, trying for one more little one was moving to the top of the priority list. She could finish editing the latest book, spend some much beloved time with the ones getting close to Hogwarts age and pulled him in for a long, long kiss.

* * *

A/N: Would love to hear your thoughts and any story requests!


	36. Story to be Removed

View this as an extended A/N or introduction to the missing pieces. The note is long so if you're **TL:DR Shifting Tides is safe for now, but likely will be torn down with all associated stories. Reread, download, etc. There's cut scenes in the next chapter and I'll post more if people would like. If you read the entire story you're an expert in Roman and Greek mythology, having canvassed over 20 myths :)**

I have an original novel tentatively to be published in 2019. Things are moving, but I had a book under option with a publisher that went out of business before it went anywhere years ago. The main story for this book has already been taken down and if you haven't ever watched Roswell, you should. They're an incredible fan community even during the takedown of another long story, only been threatened once! Shifting Tides was me picking up my quill again to heal from the heartbreak of my first novel, to try and learn as a writer with feedback as I went. So why Bill and Hermione (besides the obvious perfection of the pairing) and well, everyone freaking else in the universe? Why is it coming down?

Let's briefly address why the sequel is gone, why Shifting Tides is missing a pretty awesome storyline that became all of the muggleborn tensions and why ST barely got finished to begin with. Don't send repeated racist, threatening and expletive filled flames to authors. Glad your accounts got suspended, doubt I'm the only person who reported you for having a rubbish bin masquerading as a soul. If you read this as it was being posted you might remember George and Oliver Wood's pixie shift talked about Oliver's annoyance with Cho Chang and some prized possession she keeps transfigured into different everyday objects. Ginny got Cho's broom duel fleeing Death Eaters, but parts of her storyline are in the next chapter, so Rubbish Bin's head can go ahead and explode again.

Harry's trials were told in detail, from his point of view, so the sudden resolution of Hermione's torture at Malfoy Manor bothered me deeply. So I set out to write a story about those who got Harry through it all from the viewpoints we didn't see, painfully at their own cost, cut with a bit of humor. Their were other voices with stories, some partially known, some showing up unexpectedly. Charlie volunteered, slightly incensed that his leading a battle force down the hill with Aberforth came off as a mere afterthought with absolutely no mention of dragons. The twins loved attention and were the first of the avalanche to show you just how they'd grown from school pranksters into greatness. Ginny, who despite being rather pivotal in an early thwarted attempt for Voldemort's return, decided she was no longer going to be incidental to Voldemort's downfall and rather would be instrumental. Who was gossiping, goblin tiara owning old Aunt Muriel and why was everyone suddenly taking harbor at her place over the Burrow under a Fidelius charm?

Because Voldemort and his Death Eaters weren't going to attack her. He'd studied Grindelwald and knew Muriel was not to be messed with senile or not.

This was Bill and Hermione, and it wasn't. They're at the core, later on in this note I explain ch 24, which was a writing fail. What's less obvious is the allegorical Roman myth and Greek counterpart route for each relationship built and all of the random missions (shower scene, yup that's a Greek myth). I got direct after several major mythical retellings in the story without a callout from readers. So the tenth was named Operation Persephone, being the most recognizable of Ginny's melding wanting to see if our true mains were subtle enough. Persephone, Penelope warding off suitors by weaving a dangerous tapestry until Odysseus could finish his quest, the Siren who blew everyone off course brewed in this take on Ginny.

Hermione, far more our heroine, Harry's heroine refused to fit the proper molds for a lead female in such a series. She was not Harry's love interest, she was the personification of friendship, so rarely seen without romance from a main hero. She does deserve her own epic one though. Her Greek majors are known enough: Athena, Asteria. Clymene captive of both sides of the Trojan war, an island felled from the sea to hide her by a passionate Poseidon. Cressida, both archetypal and anti-archetypal, whose heart fled the youngest son of a god.

She is the Etruscan woman faced with weighing two brothers as potential husbands, pondered why she couldn't get the best parts of each found herself presented with a cursed knife she couldn't drop, but could use to make him. She couldn't bear to cut them and turned the blade towards herself instead. One brother offered to carry her scars, the other refused to abandon her if she did pick his brother and the court told her it was her choice.

If you ever visit Rome go to the Ara Pacis, the Augustan Altar of Peace and look for her. She's there, knife held at her side loosely, curls on her head and one of the many wolves on the relief right by her growling. So our Hermione found herself on a beach, taken there by one brother to another's care after being tortured. Another question that needed answering. Why had Ron immediately fled to Bill both times over his parents, over the twins he was closest to?

Seriously though, why Bill? Why was he the anti-Head Boy and the first mention of ridiculously high scores hinting at time turners? Why does a galleon winning visit to Bill set off the events of _Prisoner of Azkaban_? Why is Bill at the final task of the Triwizard Tournament when Voldemort returns? Why did he immediately transfer back to England and wind up at the Astronomy Tower Battle getting mauled? Why is Bill the calm bearer of the news of Moody's murder? Why is he the repeated refuge in Deathly Hallows? Why is Bill handing out shovels to dig house elf graves in his garden without batting an eye? Why was Fleur so worried about a trip to Muriel's? What did Bill overhear to prompt him to give out goblin advice unsolicited? Why is Bill the only off screen Weasley child mentioned in every single book?

Charlie would very much like to know, because he's afraid he mucked up time travel and we all wound up obliviated of his existence on and off. There's a brotherly scene between Bill and Charlie about their nursery years. Charlie wasn't Bill's only baby, Ron ran straight for Bill.

Bill is mythically _very_ complicated in this story, loved to read and took a dangerous job that would send him across as many lands that would have him, tying legends of Pharos into his being with every curse he broke. So let's get to the heart of the matter instead of our hero's own epic. (Mainly because I'm curious to who you all recognize in our Bill!)

Why is Shifting Tides coming down?

Dean Thomas and Hagrid.

However you felt about Ralph Robinson and his encroaching role that's who he's based on, though both he and Bill both feature my own leading man. Can't write a love story without a bit of yourself in there. So our two romances are muggleborn and pureblood instead of mirroring ours. There's complexity around interracial relationships depending on gender that we see in the subtle differences in the discussions Ginny, Bill, Ralph and Hermione face. Why I took Rubbish Bin's harassment so personally, it was repeated in a way the occasional unsolicited comment is not.

When I read the first book I wondered about Dean. Muggleborn, male, same year, easy going he seemed like the perfect and fast friend for our hero Harry. Harry was armed instead with Ron and Hermione, though Dean and Luna were there too a few steps back. Dean's moments in the spotlight are brief, explaining football, harangued, apologizing for Seamus, not abandoning Harry, joining the DA, off to the side with Ginny, muggleborn on the run who showed up in the midst of a pivotal moment in Deathly Hallows. The Forest of Dean is the only one mentioned by name if I recall right, but I've only read the series through twice. Why I messed up ages and misspelled names until one of you loves told me about Pottermore.

Hagrid is pivotal too, he's glancingly mentioned in Shifting Tides, but there's good reason. I was trying to work with lesser characters, ones that were familiar, yet could be shaped. Except, I loved Hagrid just as he was and his side story of the battle on his side reduced to bones, to a unicorn horn. He's in the snippets, I couldn't quite capture his unwavering friendship, complete loyalty and sheer awesomeness in a way that felt right.

If you read the snippets, you'll get pieces of his backstory. If you don't care to Alastor Moody became the greatest Dark Wizard catcher of all time because his best mate Hagrid was accused of a crime he hadn't committed in their third year. So he sleuthed at Hogwarts, became an Auror and even though Hagrid couldn't fit on a broom and technically wasn't allowed to do magic he was the only person Alastor trusted Harry's life with in such a precarious situation. So he created a complex aerial evacuation plan that would send danger directly at himself. A plan where other brilliant folks who'd offered other ones suited up as Harrys or guard and went with anyway. Still can't figure out why Hedwig was kept caged and wound up murdered. Crookshanks knows and if you ask nicely, might tell you just why he went purposefully unadopted so long at Bill's request. They're very, very protective of their Hermione.

So is Ralph of his Ginny. Ralph Robinson filled a niggling gap and he was a test to see if I could develop a romantic lead people cared about. You did! Far far more than I expected for an original character, which by default we all hate as readers. We knew of muggleborns who'd schooled before the first war in Lily Evans, years after in Hermione and Dean, but none who had entered Hogwarts in the aftermath of first war. Nothing of what those who would enter right after the Battle of Hogwarts might face, where wounds hadn't closed into veiled, seething prejudice and peers who had their youth filled with Ministry supported indoctrination against their blood. Nor what a fledgling adult, who like Harry, had the unfortunate weight of dire prophecy on his shoulders, might carry it and the aftermath of a choice not his to make in the first place. Nor what the other side of Harry's choice to shove Ginny away to protect her could look like.

He is Dean when he draws tattoos for participants in Battles of the Channel, as Dean once drew banners for Gryffindor. Dean in his friendships, Dean in his desire to protect his family by running for danger, Dean in apologizing for his best mate being ridiculous. Hagrid is the other half of the equation. What if Voldemort hadn't ripped his education from him? Robinson gets his ferocity from Hagrid, creature loving, a man who prefer the outdoors. The reality that if you are going to be the biggest man in a room, the drippings of giant blood in your veins, you've got to be the gentlest too. At least as long as you can, then when the gloves come flying off the fairer sex are still left out of it. Even when you're Dolores Umbridge, trying to remove Hagrid from grounds, torturing students, he leaves the vitriol to Hermione and Minerva.

So when Charlie Weasley offered up a volunteer who had a fair number of reasons to stay out of it, he promptly refused. His familiar had absolutely nothing to do with Apollo, his half oozlum would not drag him to the skies to burn as Icarus had, refused to carry the curse of a bloodline he didn't know existed. Prophecy would befall him perfectly fine exactly where he was, when the authoress bluntly pointed out there was a certain girl who tied Neville, Dean, Harry, Voldemort and himself was she alright? He said he'd write her a letter and told me to leave Ginny alone, she was off limits. Besides that, she was best left to men who would survive the next year with their feet still on the ground, but heart torn as the poor sod was reminded Ginny of his address if she was ever in trouble or needed a thing. He bolted to the ladies he'd chosen instead, the nesting mothers who would eat me if I got too close. Used their protection to tell me all about Charlie as a distraction.

Forced into hiding in cabinets for hours to overhear a thing at Order meetings, Ginny spent the time writing the same long return letters a dragon tamer on nest watch penned. As she heard Hermione lose her composure and Ginny shakily built herself back together in her secret cupboard, letter clenched in hand until she burst out to fix it. Fix everything she carried guilt over. She'd freaking written a trapped for decades, desperate for information, luring a soul, teenage Voldemort for months. If Dumbledore had to hunt down a memory to deduce teenage Voldemort was making seven horcruxes, what did Ginny know? If Dumbledore asked her, Harry hadn't heard about it.

Ralph was bloody protective of his Ginny, but took a different route than Harry had. He did not shove her away, he pulled her close, bit his cheek and took a step to the side rather than in front of her. On an extremely long night for everyone, Robinson would listen to Potterwatch along with everyone else, lit by the same fire Harry had set. It echoed around the house as he tried to put out the raging fire of emotions his injured Ginny was in, still all tied up from battle adrenaline, dragons in heat. The unwanted realization that everything he'd done to avoid allowing foothold into his doomed heart had spectacularly blown up in his face. Dragon reserve, muggle girlfriends he could only keep at arm's length, writing letters to a girl he felt guilt over, but couldn't stop writing to had handed over his heart in the process. —See the snippet _The fight_ (aside cut in Ch 35) It's the next chapter over after a missing Potterwatch narrated by Oliver Wood.

Ralph was supposed to die, several variations were written, it's a pretty morbid folder on my computer. Readers backed up Hagrid and told me I could't kill Ralph, he was already getting Hermione a unicorn horn and what else did I need? I was worried about Harry, Hagrid reminded me Harry was a real strong chap, had been through much worse than not marrying his school girl. As the Keeper of the Keys to Hogwarts to cut his and Minerva's side story out instead or he'd obliviate me. He wasn't confident in his ability to do the spell, so it became a recurring humor. Wizards had to be spectacularly bad at it in general, otherwise they'd just walk around doing whatever they felt like and making everyone forget left and right, as they pleased. Not our Hermione, who'd mastered it enough to make her own parents forget she existed. You've got to have intention behind spells, mean it as Harry was taunted over the killing curse.

Intention had carried her through and if you're curious, Bill still spends time trying to fix her parents' brains on repeat after realizing they can't form any memories of their first grandchild. Rose had been conceived while they were still childless, Australian dentists under Hermione's strong charm work. So poor Rosie has her name left off cards, her birthday forgotten by them, gets reintroduced each time. To cheer her up a five year old Teddy Lupin promises her he'll throw her the best birthday party every year, better than the goblins even. Remus internally flinches when he's informed of his son's plans and his new responsibility of co-party planner, but it does lead to the first conversation about Teddy's exuberant mother that isn't prompted and doesn't leave him feel like he's swallowing shards of glass. Unexpected healing begins with the help of lots of rainbows and their disastrous attempts at baking year after year, a left over effect from a long ago prank.

While it got cut, the twins were not the first Weasley siblings to cross paths with the Marauders. Bill dragged Charlie into a misadventure from an old book in their youth and again during the middle of the nights he was missing from Shell. They escaped the near deathly consequences Ginny and Harry experienced from the diary and potions book, just the strain it put on his marriage with Hermione remains.

Remus and Tonks serving as explanatory narrators in their home life also got cut. Remus would tell her to rest for the baby, he'd do everything around the house since the baby was making her more clumsy than usual. She'd humor him some, ignore him when she wanted properly cooked dinner and they would ponder on werewolf implications of Bill's condition and how it was affecting the latch, the moon, Hermione. Narrate the different levels of being soul tied: irrevocable, mated, compatible and the effects on the holders of such afflictions. The differences between bonding options and how none of it is particularly easy on participants. It was too wordy, you lovely readers didn't need explanations of their own marriage, of Bill and Hermione, of Ginny and her conundrum or of Severus Snape and Lily Evans. Love could just be love.

So it was boiled down into chapter 24 and a courtship reading, a focus on our main's friendships, humor between the horrors of war. Hagrid and Grawp enter to show their friendship with Hermione, Hermione sits with and has fought for Ginny in the courtship process, Harry and Ron show they're incapable of planning without Hermione and absolutely can't leave her behind on the hunt, Bill as a friend during courtship acceptance not just a big brother or goblin handler. Too much humor, it wasn't done directly enough to see it was a B/H focused chapter like they all are.

Why courting? It's pretty common in HP fan fiction, it's also a real life thing. Why is it so ridiculous? Your authoress' first kiss came in a courtship, packed off to her version of Fundamentalist Aunt Muriel for a summer as a teen. If you're confused, google the Duggars and you'll get an idea and a view into their courtship rules. My doomed courtship rules were different, not near as strict physical boundaries, but arguably just as bizarre from the outside looking in. My Aunt Muriel muse just lied her face off at the store over our rebellious nail polish. We were not sneaking it, she was buying it to save others from temptation, went back and got hussy red just because she could at that point. She's the gentlest of the three Furies, the Dirae or Erinyes, in the story. Molly carries the role of Demeter, the wrathful Fury, seen in DH when she goes to battle for her daughter.

Bill and Hermione are chaperoned over the moon, our first view of courting practices, but I figured anyone with a hint of werewolf blood would be banned from it, like they were almost everything else. So they got married instead. I got a few messages about how out of character it was for Hermione, but I don't view it that way. She's not just a bookworm, she's quite a complex character. She does plenty of on the spot things in serious moments in the series, why would she hesitate with her heart after she's just been faced with her own mortality?

Keep your eyes peeled for (working title) _The Grove._ Fingers crossed I've got smoother sailing this time, but if you're in publishing or know someone who is I'd very much love to hear from you!

Onwards and upwards: We've got some Aunt Muriel, a Potterwatch that got cut because it involved another cut narrator,. I'm still tweaking the B/H portion, since most of that made it in, so bear with me.

Most importantly thank you! Thank you for reading, for reviewing, for laughing occasionally. Tell me which mythical deities you think Bill is!


	37. Deleted scenes 1

**A/N: If you're just clicking on the latest updated chapter, go back one. Shifting Tides will be coming down soon and I explain why over there.**

Chapter 4/ Chapter 5: Night where Hermione is given the wrong potion and gets into Bill's shower. Precursor for other things, narration switches from Hermione and Bill at one point and I never fixed it.

 **Hermione and Bill**

"Harry, please stop apologizing. It was an accident." Hermione pleaded, embarrassed enough over the hazy past hours, still feeling rather childish at the edges, but enough in her senses to not ask Bill to make her another sprinkle sundae. "Let's just play another round of exploding snap."

Dean started dealing when there was a bash into the door. George's desperate voice coming through as he tried the handle. "Is Mum here?"

Fred drew his wand and looked at Bill, heading over. "No. She doesn't know it exists. Flouncing floundering-"

"Flamingos. I don't need in, Mum found out again. We've got to find her. Now."

Fred turned back to them, tension in every muscle. "Bloody hell. Bill you've got to stay, Dean and Luna, wands?"

Luna shook her head, but Dean stood, "Yeah, Harry grabbed mine with the others."

"C'mon. I'll explain on the way." They both went out the door rapidly, three sets of footsteps smashing sand at a sprint for the apparition point could be heard.

Bill gave Hermione a squeeze, explaining for them. "My Uncles died fighting Death Eaters during the first war. They were twins like Fred and George, took five Death Eaters out with them, but Mum loses her head every time she finds out why the fight started. Goes berserk and enters a witch's rage. It'll throw up a flag at the Ministry, so they've got to get her first before the Ministry finds her to contain her."

"A witch's rage?" Harry asked in confusion.

Hermione answered, "Professor Binn has talked about them in class, how the Ministries have to track it because there's been dire consequences like the Cairn wars." Harry still looked blank, "A witch's rage or a warlock's rage is when an adult is so furious they can't control their magic and it's a lot worse than accidentally inflating your aunt. Why did the fight start, Bill? Why is it so bad?"

He picked at loose thread on the couch, he'd absolutely loved his uncles, uncles the younger ones never got to know. He too carried a guilt over it. "Charlie and I stole Mum and Dad's wands to duel at midnight over something stupid. Mum had to take me to St. Mungo's since Aunt Muriel was at work and couldn't come to us."

He gestured at the fireplace, remembering back to being small and injured, stopping behind her at corners so she could peek around. "Like now the floo network wasn't safe and you're not supposed to apparate anyone who's bleeding so we went the long way. Someone from You-Know-Who's side was out and about, Mum stunned the black hood on sight, but I guess they'd seen us too. Snape passed information to the Order of the Phoenix that they were looking for her, but didn't know who the redhead was."

Bile rose in his throat just like it did every time. "Really looking for her, she was to be taken alive and uninjured. Whoever saw her wanted a wife, Dad gets almost as riled up over it as she does. She was still young, Ginny looks a lot like her now. My Uncles were infuriated, thought they'd set up a sting to get him to show up so they could take care of the problem."

"They weren't expecting five Death Eaters I take it." Harry offered somberly and Bill could tell he was thinking of Ginny.

He shook his head, "More than that, Uncle Fabian and Uncle Gideon took five out with them before they got overwhelmed. Dumbledore thought the Death Eaters called for back up and You-Know-Who showed up and ended it."

He gently tucked Hermione's hair back, glancing at the clock to see if it was time for another potion. "How could he tell? The killing curse is used by all of them."

Bill looked pointedly at Hermione's white knuckled grip on her tea. There were plenty of other ways to be killed in a duel and his Uncles had not had gentle deaths. "Last time Mum got caught without too much damage, well minus Dad not being able to return to work. The messages went out and one of our Eastern Order members was at a reserve in Scotland. You've both met Robinson I think."

"Dragon tamer? Ginny's pen friend?" Harry asked and Bill nodded, idly reaching for more hot chocolate to top Hermione's cup off. She needed the calories and was happily enough drinking it by the vat.

"Yeah, their galleons are a bit different so he got the message garbled. They almost had Mum contained when he showed up and thought she needed rescuing." Bill shook his head, "So helped her get away from them, then the Ministry wizards showed up for her. He thought they were hunting him and didn't realize anything was wrong until they had them dewanded. Mum started asking him if they should just kill them or give them to -"

Bill cut himself off and took a sip, no mentioning snatchers to these ones. "He told her she needed to drink an alertness potion if they were going to hunt Death Eaters and doused her with a love potion. Immediately killed the witches' rage, but Dad told him to keep her until it could be explained and calmed."

Unfortunately, there'd been no undoing the fact his Mum had told snatchers they were impersonating Ministry employees to get them hauled off. Though happily none had been injured, just taken in for identity verification, snatcher payout and a hefty dose of humiliation. He grinned at them, "I went out there to make sure she was fine and take an antidote. Mum was still ticked, but confused about why. She was just continuously berating Robinson about losing his wedding band, thinking it had been from her brothers."

He dropped into an impression of his Mum at her most annoyed. " _Honestly all you had to do was put it on your hand and leave it there. Couldn't even have had the decency to lose it at house."_

Hermione gave a raspy chuckle, Harry grinning, "Better than Ron's go on one."

The reaction wasn't as extreme, but Hermione tensed in his embrace and he shot Harry a look, opening his mouth to have Luna cut him off. "Oh, Ginny and I used to try and brew those when we were little. We weren't very good at it, but she wanted to give him one. I bet she finds it very funny that he did it to Mrs. Weasley."

"She does." Bill agreed, "She's looking forward to seeing all of you, been going a bit spare being stuck at Aunt Muriel's."

There was a knock at the door, "Dean and Fred here, we're back. Bill, what color was my pony?"

"You didn't have a pony, Fred. Could've guessed that one, pick better questions. What's my birthday flavor?"

"Pear." Bill got up to let them in, pausing, "Any of you want to practice security questions with Dean?"

Harry sheepishly got up and went over with him, "Dean, what was the order of our beds?"

"Ron, you, Seamus until he was a prat and I changed there, me and Neville. What year did I get a pet?"

'Third." Bill gave him an approving nod and opened the door. They were both rather wet, but Fred was smiling.

"She's alright, didn't make it far at all, Dung got her. Someone at the Ministry killed the flag as soon as it went up, so thank Merlin for that." Fred said it in relief and Bill's thoughts went to Percy, hoping it might be him, knowing it was unlikely. It would have gone up for Aurors and accidental magic departments, not wherever he was off being a prat.

"Doesn't your dad and brother work at the Ministry? Maybe he did it!" Dean offered, Fred shook his head, making a sour face.

"Let's go try that rune on the cave. C'mon my rune casters. Pet, you alright to stay out of the cold or do you want to come?" He thought he knew the answer, but it felt like he should at least try.

"I want to watch." Bill nodded, grabbing another blanket from the couch and wrapping her in the extra. He helped her up, her legs buckling even with him holding her extra weight. He scooped her into his arms and she didn't protest, he needed to get someone better trained to look at her. It seemed like some of her pain wasn't lessening at all, especially her leg and he was starting to worry she had permanent nerve damage under the huge bruise. He'd thought it was broken, but didn't seem to be.

Fred dropped a wink at her, "I'll have to try that potion on myself, Granger. Bill was an excellent pony, gave many a piggy back ride."

 **Ron**

Chapter 13/ Chapter 14: Post dragon arrival at the Potterwatch/Order meeting. Before Muriel and George head off to Switzerland and Ron goes back to Shell where Bill tells him about his involvement with Hermione.

"There right here, Aunt Muriel." He muttered it, glancing at their location, the pantry she'd dragged him in request of helping her look for homemade preserves. "You're not blind, what are you up to?"

She took him in, sniffing a piece of chocolate and offering it to him. "No, Ronald, our eyesight is perfectly fine. I've never worried a whit about you being blinded by overconfidence, like some of your siblings. You see plenty even if you misinterpret it and act a fool over it." Ron made a face, she made one back. "Your sister wrote me plenty about it during terms."

"Of course she did." Ron rolled his eyes, shoved his hands in his pockets, but made no move to leave as she half expected he would, instead allying himself with a shelf of lemon curd.

"Ron, where did you go after you abandoned Hermione and Harry?" She asked him, probing to see if her assessment was correct. If Charlie and the twins assessments were correct.

"I came home." It was a guilty admission and he looked away, at the lemon curd then at his feet, found the bottles were judging him too. Embarrassed with weakness and flight from the quest.

She poked him, "Not to me. Not to your mother, who would have been thrilled to see you. Not to Romania where sweet Charlie would have let you hide away in peace."

Ron was giving her an askance look, but was starting to see where she was going. "Doubt it. Keeps badgering….well.. You know who. Not that one, but you-"

"Yes and he should badger that fool. Came back in high dudgeon from his visit to the Ministry. You didn't run to that blind as a bat brother either." She pursed her lips, not understanding how Percy could have left, could have stayed away, until just now not with Prewett blood in his veins or the father he had. Still, she gentled herself, this was Ronald, not Percy. "Not to the twins you're closest with. Not back to school."

"Brilliant that would have been. Plough in after the hols like no big deal. Surprised they let Ginny go if they believed a whit of my spattergoit." It was exasperated and Muriel made another face at him, deciding not to bring up that everyone else had to deal with the ghoul and lying to the Ministry.

"Ginevra had no choice." It was a snap. "Not if Arthur wanted to keep working. If you think your sister wasn't an easily accessible hostage under a Death Eater as Headmaster you're a bigger fool than I thought."

Ronald opened and shut his mouth, a strangled protest. "McGonagall-"

"Saved her when she needed saving." Muriel cut him off, Ron was here to discuss his own actions, not those of his sister's. Ginny had not wavered in her belief of Harry Potter, had requested McGonagall intervene for others before her. Had all but thrown herself at the Death Eaters as a potential hostage with her rebellious and guilt driven ways. Ronald had not, had run when things got hard and folded rather quicker than his sister had when faced with the atrocities of something that had belonged to such a dark wizard.

Muriel did not know the word for what Ginny had held, the reason behind Ron's night terrors as he grabbed at a phantom object at his neck, but she knew such depraved things existed. If she'd been younger it would have scared her, if her hands had not built callouses healing trauma from Grindelwald at the beginning of her career and Lord Voldemort at the end, she might even have sympathy left for Ronald. But her hands had busied themselves healing, her heart had suffered losses and all she could scrounge up for her forlorn great nephew was patience. "Did you pause and have a think? Before you went to Shell?"

He shook his head, "Tried to get back in and when I couldn't then just went-" A pause, rising panic. "You're not supposed to know where-"

She waved him off, "Obliviation doesn't work on those of us with lost minds, Ron. You've got to be able to picture the events you want to erase clearly in order your head to perform the spell, not how we remember them."

He gave her a grimace, words tinged with anguish for friend other than the girl who'd fallen into the ocean, bobbing in the tides as Bill tried to get her back to shore. She had no solace for him over Augusta's grandson, giving a sombre nod. "The Longbottoms cannot recover, just use my potion, because they cannot recall it properly. Your Hermione has clear memories from others who can recall the events in the correct time, friends who were there with her."

He looked away, a sheen in his eyes, "You weren't who hurt her, Ronald, you're the reason she's not insane. She clung to you."

"I can't heal her though." There was a frog in his throat, thickening each syllable into dire despair.

She tried to dilute it, reset their conversation. "You took her where she could recover in peace. Straight to Bill, wasn't it?"

Ron nodded, mute for a long moment and she pushed a scone at him, straightening a shelf until he found words enough to agree properly. "I guess you're right. Mum didn't even occur to me, or you with all your healer training."

"I was senile, but you knew the twins were quite excellent at it. Still, you went to Bill, who breaks things for a living. Not a healer's bone in his body, had been a fright of a patient himself, taking it out on everyone left and right."

"Not on Hermione." It was automatic, before rephrasing, "Bit more on the obsessed side to be honest, had a rough go of wolfing up with her around."

She nodded, "Nothing he could help, just like I suspect his heart is given just as permanently as his scars. Why did you go to Bill? Run straight there?"

"I don't know." He admitted, "Just made the most sense both times. I didn't know she was going to latch-"

"Of course you didn't." She cut off, "Nobody thinks of that straight away. You went to Bill when you needed someone most, when this girl you're in love with needed someone most. Remember that before you get angry with him and how much he's hurting for it right now."

"He'll be alright? After, I mean, when their brains are separate?"

She patted his hand firmly at the childish hope in his tones. He ate the scone, swallowing another down like a starving snake. "You're quick to anger, Ron, but very few go blind with rage in a second. Just keep an eye on it and come right back here if you have to."

Ron nodded, more to himself in reassurance he could handle it than at her words. She smiled at him, "Or come to Switzerland with Georgie and I! You can't take the regular shifts, but moping and stewing is bad for your constitution."

"Me? Not Fred?" There was a whisper of unabashed snark there and she felt a twinge of guilt.

"George can stay with Fred if he feels." She patted him again, more tentatively this time, apologizing as best she could. "I know you think I don't like you, Ron. That's not the case at all."

She got an incredulous look, his cornflower blue eyes almost comically wide. "I don't remember you as well, Ron, and certainly didn't possess a charitable spirit while losing my grip on my mind. I wasn't going to be allowed to keep treating patients at St. Mungo's much longer, so when Fabian and Gideon died I stepped out to help Molly. A dignified end to a distinguished career."

This time it was he pushing a scone her way in comfort, hearing the bitter persimmon taste over it all still lingering in her mouth. "There's photos of your retirement celebration at the Burrow."

She nodded, opting not to point out it wasn't a cheerful party with the walls draped in mourning colors, days after a funeral in a war far farther along than this one. "Yes, Ron, you were still in a bonnet then."

He nodded, before looking up at the extended roar of a dragon. "If I can't see straight?"

"I'll write to the Quibbler on your behalf." She told him wryly, "The've got glasses for everything."

Muriel didn't understand why he smiled so wide and gave a bit of a guffaw as his name got called to return to Shell. Without even having to remind him, Ron leaned over in a rare bout of affection and pecked her cheek, "Have a nice day, Aunt Muriel."

Whether this singular conversation shifted the tides of war is up for debate, but its influence on a conversation between two brothers on a beach is not. Ron was able to set aside his own feelings, hush his rage and have a calm enough conversation with Bill when belatedly informed about Hermione and Bill's sudden involvement. He would be able to find the charity Aunt Muriel couldn't as she lost her mind. Gained the ability see what was at stake clearly and act appropriately.

 **Oliver** **Wood**

CH 28: The Day Before We Went to War Oliver Wood narrates, checks in on a fighting Ginny and Ralph that Charlie later walks in on while Ginny is confessing her love. He also spends time with Cho Chang, one of the narrators that got cut. Always liked Cho, had a bit of a rough go in the books heart and friend wise, but showed up for battle. Oliver says everything, including Cho's prized possession, caused him grief and he'd like to share some of it.

Oliver grinned at the muggle doorman who immediately let him in, robes and all, without even a facial change. He didn't think he'd had magic done on him, just used to keeping the secrets of the posh muggles who kept impersonal modern flats in his building. He hit several extra buttons in the lift, he knew how to work it properly, but after such a long shift smacked the extra buttons not for the marvel of it. It was a reminder of why he was fighting for them, the clever muggles who'd built it, whose children jumped as the lift landed to make it shake. His little Andy had shown him that, the first little muggleborn orphan he had rescued, the real reason he and Alicia had bumped their wedding up months to speed along muggle adoption papers.

He knocked the fancy secret knock on the fancy flat door, the bark coming through it. He opted to test out the muggle identity being built for the same adoption, "Oliver Redfern."

"Birthplace?" The bark came through, not as sharp.

'Do I have one now?" He asked excitedly, before pausing, "Um, somewhere in Australia." There was waiting, "What'd you do the one and only time you played keeper?"

"No." The door got pulled open and Robinson found a wand in his face. "Seriously? We're in the same courtship group, jerk."

"I want to know." Ginny asked, the beautiful French willow nodding.

"I got stuck in the left hoop. Didn't know you couldn't fly through it." He turned back to his delighted, slightly deranged looking witch. "I kept enough goals out until Charlie caught the snitch that we won anyway."

"Nightmare marathon of a game, switching out players to sleep, minus Charlie who was refusing to come down and acting like a maniac." Oliver confirmed cheerfully, "Got you off the reserves at least. Captain was impressed that he sacrificed his broom, his googles, his shoes, and his dignity for the game by chucking them at the quaffle."

"You never told me that! Fleur, you can go now." Ginny nodded at the door in a distinctly cold fashion. "I'm sure you'd like to get home. The monkey is fond of you if you'd like a familiar."

Anger bloomed into peaches on the beauty's cheeks, she had no home, was a current refugee of the war after her Veela Reserve had been burned down. Oliver headed for the bathroom, opting to ignore all of the looks flying around him of fury, scolding and apology. He washed up, the door slammed and no words came, just silence. He went out to make sure Robinson was in one piece, found a couple very much not at peace. Robinson scribbling away in the diary as Ginny shoved past Oliver and slammed the bedroom door. He got an apologetic glance up, "There's plenty of food if you're hungry. Don't mind her, it's….it's not easy being cooped up."

"You're not trapped. I am, go have a freedom gelato. Don't need a chaperone for that." It came through the slammed door.

It had been a chaperoned date for the couples, he and Ginny's muggleborn partners introducing them to a treat where the only magical property was the taste. No floating sherbet, just Alicia ordering as many flavors as she could to supposedly share with him, only to make him steal them and leave it abandoned. There would be no glance up to see them holding hands with single scoops each, informing them Bill had to bail so they were chaperone free, just not to tell and wands set to remind everyone of curfew. Oliver didn't know exactly what to say, "Why can you leave? That seems-"

"Infuriated him to the point I earned a spot on his personal kill list." A point over at the same booklet Oliver had, though noticeably thicker. "Can't capture, torture or ambush a current suitor if you're aiming for her hand. He's in hiding just as much as we are, so no proper public duel."

"Damn. Bet the Ministry picks that up with this new courtship law they're trying to pass. Sign in blood to skip a squib and save a life!" He shook his head, getting a loosening of tight shoulders in return, "You two alright? Not in immediate danger?"

There was a creepy titter from the bedroom, the little girl who'd set a monster on the school still made Oliver unreasonably uncomfortable, brought up memories of the other little muggles and the horrific fight they'd been in. They weren't making gooey eyes at each other, but Robinson looked intact and very much alive. The door opened, "Tom thinks that's very clever of you, Oliver. May I borrow your wand?"

He tightened his grip on it in his pocket, Robinson shaking his head at him as he moved towards her rapidly, only to have her shove a chair between them. "Gin, let me turn him off. You'll feel better."

She responded by hitting his legs with the dining chair, "He's not controlling me completely."

A nod of permission got shot his way, Oliver didn't particularly want to have to engage, but started the countdown anyway in case Robinson couldn't manage the murderess in her. "Ralph Robinson, did you or did you not do an Unbreakable Vow with Charlie over always writing me back?"

Robinson blanched, stepping back. "How does he know about that? It doesn't matter, it's not why we're-"

"Fight spot. Now." Oliver gave him an encouraging glance as he got out of the way, Alicia had latched onto that part of courtship counseling as well. Disagreements would be had in a neutral spot, no bedrooms meant for love and passion. Alicia had decided it would be the laundry room in the replacement house, farthest place from where Andy's bedroom would be and the home of a chore they both already hated. This tiny, posh flat had no room for such luxuries, the destroyed cottage purchased to escape it still smoldering away.

"Ginny-"

"Did you-"

"First." He called the magic into play and Ginny was voiceless. Oliver was intrigued, they'd not had to evoke the marital magic that meant the person who hadn't called the place into being had the chance to state their case, uninterrupted. Not that Oliver intended to be like the wizard who'd filibustered his angry wife into such exhaustion she went to sleep in the garden. Still, it was a play to keep in mind if he ever needed a last ditch effort if he was getting looked at like Robinson was.

An overture boomed from the soft wireless. A glance spared from the fury he was faced with. "Bloody hell, tell him to stop making the wireless play Phantom of the Opera, the Phantom is not the bloody hero and it's creeping everyone out. Say you hate it or you find it offensively muggle or something," Oliver raised his hand in confirmation, it explained so many things. Bizarre songs, Potterwatch broadcasting interference. "Sweetheart, he dragged you to a dungeon to kill you and when we got news at the Reserve Charlie went bloody ballistic. You'd been so lonely you wrote to a stranger, gave him your heart and almost died for it. We'd been terrible correspondents and Charlie kept shouting about how much you liked letters from me and if I'd just fucking written you back in a timely fashion it wouldn't have happened. If he had, if Bill had, but mostly if I'd been less of a shit excuse of a person. He blamed it on me. I blamed it on me. Sickened, panicked, desperate we did a Vow. Every letter would be responded to, you'd be written to twice a week." He bit his cheek and looked away, "If the charmed parchment went unopened long enough Hogwarts and the Burrow were to be stormed. Why I was at the match where you got taken out by double bludgers right before Easter. You never opened the letter and we'd been writing so much by then, Gin, not having an owl for days went from being an annoyance at owl post to alarming. Don't make that face, sweetheart. Keep focused, stay with me, I know he's saying shit at the back of your mind, but it's not the part of your brain you think with. I could have written you like a chore, a line here or there, a frog fact, but we've got a pile of letters over there full of friendship, don't we?"

The tiny space will filled with such an intensity between the couple Oliver barely found there was enough room for him. He didn't want to break the precious gift of _First_ , but wanted to be able to breathe. She didn't look like she was going to start screaming at him, so he risked it. "Minerva recognized the Reserve birds, thought they were Order communications for her. Spent a few Order shifts swooping about paths to the Hogwarts owlery catching owls, giving the messages and owls to Hagrid for Order review and creature care. They all got confused, so new owls flew for Hagrid's hut over the owlery they went to after breakfast delivery. I think Snape caught on though, because Lee and I had to go release rats for them to hunt closer to the tower for a few nights."

"Doubt they were confused, Hagrid was probably spoiling them. Half the rare creatures in the Forbidden Forest showed up curious about him and chose to stay once they found out they wouldn't be hunted. Whenever I got detention asked if Hagrid needed help. Either of you ever do a Forbidden Forest detention?" He was desperately trying to change the subject, trying to derail what Oliver assumed would be a massive spat, spurred on by the voice in her head as he tugged her closer.

Ginny shook her head, tentatively moving her arms around him. Words exchanged too soft for him to hear, heads nodding and shaking at each other. Foreheads pressed, tiptoes gone to, anger draining away enough for solace. Oliver talked to himself, letting them snog in peace to turn off the depravity in her head. "Yup, yup. Flew over it quite a bit, there were rare flowers that bloomed on top of some of the trees and Professor Sprout wasn't fond of broomsticks. I seriously doubt Filch could get one to so much as roll over. Best advice Charlie ever gave me about detention. Apologize and say you feel cooped up in the castle and that's why you misbehaved, try to shove off whoever else you're getting detention with onto Filch." A sudden thought occurring, he'd done it to Alicia after they'd been caught catching some private moments after curfew. They had group courtship scheduled for tonight at the flat. "Don't tell Alicia that. Thinks I always had just as awful as a time as she did."

A glance over at the noise of something falling off the counter Ginny was getting boosted onto showed him You-Know-Who was either very hard to turn off or they'd forgotten Oliver existed in their enthusiastic end to a not quite argument. "We've got Aunt Muriel tonight as a speaker, don't we? Hope she's more like my Mum and less like Chang's grandad lecturing us. Davies told me after it was because he'd caught them snogging in a way that flaunted the rules. Middle of the night, but by the astronomy definition already a new day, so curfew didn't apply. She was technically still in her bedroom alone and he was on broomstick outside of her window, no broken rules there. They're really clever about it, know the technicalities in and out. Course now Cho's window is charmed shut and there's bludgers set to attack if he tries anyway, your fault for dragon defense, Robinson."

Another glance, he had an invite to give before going about his day. "Ali and I are getting married on Beltane, you're both invited of course."

No response so he left them to their makeup session. He made it a few steps before having to go back for his broom, opening the door and finding no wand in his face and Robinson's face hidden by the shirt Ginny was yanking off of him. He grabbed his broom, debating. He thought most of courtship was bollocks, but witches' magic preferred to be bonded to the point even the most sensible of witches could lose their head. It was on the wizard to keep the physical aspect in check and while he didn't care, he knew the heavily sleep deprived Robinson very much did. Robinson was stubbornly quiet in their wizard courtship group, preferred to let Davies and Hagrid emote. When forced to say anything under threat of being kicked out had told them he'd promised to keep his hands to himself, but Ginny had made no such promises so it was real murky. He suspected if he could follow Bill's example to manage Hermione's desires in a respectable way and elope he would.

Unfortunately, that wasn't an option in their aim to keep He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's attention fully on them allowing their side a level of freedom to get things done, get people to safety, security set up for muggles in a way not seen since Dumbledore had been alive.

Oliver couldn't tell if she was trying to maul him in affection or mind control induced aggression, so he interrupted. "Percy is your next check in. Or Mrs. Weasley."

Two shoulders with dragon tattoos aligned briefly enough to see the fire on them matched as they untangled, magic around him whooshing back from bleeding out into two discombobulated, disheveled looking people. A beautiful girl who even tousled, swollen lipped and stressed was unmistakably pretty. One who'd probably trade every ounce of beauty she'd been gifted to not have one of the darkest wizards of all time obsessed with her. Robinson held the same easy confidence and draw Bill had, no teenage struggles the rest of them had of getting girls to realize they existed. Girls knew of them, asked them out, fell in their laps while the rest of the male Gryffindors made spectacles out of themselves. Percy hated him with a passion, not softened in the least by his and Charlie's obvious attempts to help with his pursuit of Penelope.

Oliver decided that would be his next verification question for both Robinson and Percy as he repeated their guardian schedule at them. He knew he'd get the retaliation question about Alicia, but she already knew of their meddling and found it all very sweet. Robinson clearly wanted him gone. "Yeah, got it. Thanks."

"Ginny? Are you who sent that valentine that made him and Charlie run around playing cupid?"

She flushed bright red, "Percy had written to ask Mum for supplies to make a valentine. I just wanted to help."

Her suitor gave her an indulgent squeeze, "McGonagall eventually realized we were cursed, not just acting like idiots for the crack of it. Our matchmaking rate puts those Witch Weekly ones to shame, Oliver and Alicia are one of our success stories. Fourth couple going down the aisle!"

He dropped Oliver a wink, letting him know it was all fine to leave at her cheerful smile. "Charlie generously offered our services when we were at the TriWizard tournament and she told us about the headache the Yule Ball was going to cause. She declined him, we weren't even going to charge a fee."

Ginny laughed, "Can't imagine why, might've helped. Oliver are you going to headquarters, home, or second shift?"

"Maybe second, Cho's been on messenger shift and if she's got it, I'll just check in."

"Didn't know until after Percy and I used Puddlemere. Not something you talk about openly." He shrugged, heart plummeting out. "If I'd not gotten myself thrown in holding we could have saved everyone, all of the kids and parents. Could've saved your cousin and-"

He didn't expect the impact at his back and slammed her into stasis like the safety protocol said. Ginny had been there in that awful extraction where he'd killed someone, she was on the ground arms half wrapped in a hug. "I'm sorry. Sorry, sorry. I-"

"It's fine." She was being scooped up by her suitor, "Could've been after your wand."

He hadn't been the first to do it then. "Are you alright? Seriously?"

The eyes that glanced back held a wretched helplessness Oliver had never seen before on a person and didn't want to glimpse again. "No. You didn't know Alicia was captured, hurt and being sent to Azkaban until Percy told you." He set her on the couch. "I'm right here during it. Armed with a fucking two way diary and a cabinet full of calming droughts until Beltane. I can feel what he's doing to her, Wood."

He fussed her hair, letting the horror sink in. He'd been there the night dragons showed up, been punched more than once by a sobbing Bill Weasley caught in the loop of Hermione's torture flooding his mind. Disjointed moments clicked into place, the mess of helping Fred try and get Ginny calm enough to let go of him so proper healing diagnostics could be run. Robinson had been injured to the point he could't get his own harness off, couldn't get himself standing after being discarded by mating dragons. "You two latched after the Battle of the Channel?"

Another head shake. "No. I already had to Helena, Hungarian Horntail. We call it something else on the Reserves, but it happens from time to time unexpectedly. Nothing serious, like Bill and Hermione, just forever favoritism. Fight to the death friendship, I'll not die by dragon fury nor will anyone get close enough to her, her mate or her nestlings to have a chance while I've got a wand. Ginny's got to breathe, Wood."

Oliver undid the stasis and she gasped, sucked in air, looking at them in trepidation. Oliver smacked her back into it. "You're looking for ways to bond, right?"

He looked up, freezing the pen. "Yeah. Hold on, let me give her a few sips of sleeping draught. She needs the rest and I get really paranoid with the stasis thing."

He got a bit down Ginny's throat and Oliver released the stasis, she sleepily looked at him. "What are you talking about? What did I do?"

"You startled Wood, that's all." Her brow furrowed and the tones got gentler, "You didn't hurt anyone, sweetheart. I'd never let that happen, but you were unreasonably cross with Fleur. I'm sure she'd appreciate an explanation from Tom about why they were targeted for such a drastic attack. Might be a better conversation topic than discussing torture techniques?"

She nodded, looking over at Oliver before abruptly falling asleep. Oliver talked as he guiltily settled her into a more natural position. "A cave off the cliff of my village has a true Oathing Stone where some witches' selkies are given and oathed to the wizard. She'd have to chose to make a selkie of course and give it to you to hide. It's not as permanent as what you're planning."

"Like a seal selkie? Seamen's wives?" Ralph looked very thoughtful, "For muggles if it's found she turns back and swims off."

"Aye, but it would be her magic. She'd be muggle every ninth day and every ninth month, unless she chooses do it one go and spend a full year muggle." He rubbed the back of his head, "Real rare to do it these days, but when we were having to make the witches it started with the seal people in Scotland."

Ralph didn't look like he particularly believed that legend. "I'll offer it to her, but what would happen if You-Know-Who found it? He'd have her magic?"

"Erm, that's why brides don't really do it anymore as a pledge of good faith. I think Flitwick's family comes from a goblin stealing a witch's selkie, he has one in his office."

Ginny's head turned, face frowning into disgust. "Tom, stop it. You can't say you're a gentleman and then say things like that to me."

Ralph reached over and poured the waking potion into her mouth, shaking her. The book was laying open words scrawling elegantly across the page. _Ginevra, it's natural to discuss the passions we'll share as man and wife. It's encouraged in the courtship-_

Oliver looked away, bile rising and he stood as well, it was no wonder their nerves were frayed and tensions were high.

"Erm, no. Got to check on that shift." He left again, wanting to get as far away from the deranged madness as he could. He twisted to another Scot, Cho was sitting in the back of the restaurant, doing a puzzle, muggle eyes sliding around her booth. He eyed the number of dishes and wondered if she'd been starving or if it was just build up from waitresses unable to see the table. ""How are the lilies we gave you and Davies doing?"

She looked up and grinned. "The tulips look lovely. Roger brought me more flowers from the shop on High Street last night."

He grinned back, "Not the one of Chinnery? Alicia's dad is loving all the extra business."

She pointed at the puzzle, "Still working on it. I like it, I always read the card."

"So does everyone else." He grinned, "Just had a shift with Mrs. Weasley, between her and Aunt Muriel Ralph will have a heart attack when he gets the bill. Percy dropped off a massive floral delivery with personalized desk arrangements at the Ministry for some fake appreciation day this morning."

Cho's returning grin was feral. "Does he take orders by owl? Not sure I quite got how to use a phone in Muggle Studies."

"Yup. So what's with this puzzle."

"We think there's a message in here. Charmed up to prevent cheating, but it's all messed up. Stan Shunpike had a pile of puzzles when Dean Thomas intercepted him. Think they've been distributed."

He had no clue who that was and it showed, "He was my sister's year, redheaded Hufflepuff, works on the Knight Bus. Think he's one of the ones that keeps getting _Imperioused_. Got to be something with his job, you think? Nobody's seen the trolley witch from Hogwarts Express either. My team's been trying to track her down since winter hols since two Ravenclaws got kidnapped from the station."

"House empty?" He sat, stomach growling and grabbed a menu.

"Can't find it, nobody seems to know where she lives or what her name is. It's getting weird, Wood, everyone describes her exactly the same. Grandparents, kids, it's like she's immortal or something. We've got to know before term ends and the kids are all on the train again."

"There's got to be a bakery, Chang. Pursue the pumpkin pasties. How do I order?"

"There's not." She said, before fiddling with the little knob on the jukebox at the table edge. The puzzle and plates disappeared and they were visible, Cho waving cheerfully at the waiter.

The waiter came over and they ordered breakfast. "Guess what? We're going to be neighbors! We decided on the wailing woman house you two passed on. I figure she only shows up once a year."

He shook his head at his seeker, Chang got on his nerves from time to time, usually when he was tasked with keeping enough goals out a snitch catch would mean a win. Off the pitch he liked her well enough most of the time. "Ask her about the trolley lady. Maybe they're off on holiday together most of the year."

She laughed, "Best tip we've gotten in a month. Where's group tonight?"

"The flat of despair. You'll get entrance when it's time. It's weirder over there than your untraceable trolley lady."

"He rowing with You-Know-Who again in the book?" She asked, indicating she'd already been granted access. "They were having some ridiculous argument about You-Know-Who telling Ginny he wanted to hold her for real at night, had always slept alone. Ralph was raging about how he knew he damn well hadn't, had a grey owl as a child that Ginny had sewn for him from a couch cushion. We've got to get Ginny's wands away from Ralph tonight, he's got three right now and I think he'll seriously snap soon. And whatever time turner he's got if he's not crazy."

Voice quieter as she placed two more puzzle pieces, "Ginny had one of the Unforgivables used on her through their connection in retaliation." Another piece, "It was awful."

"For sewing a couch owl?" He asked in confusion, picking up pieces to help. Oliver knew exactly what time turner Cho was talking about and was going to share some words with him. Going back in time to give child Voldemort a cuddly toy clearly hadn't done any good, but perhaps a timeline where he hadn't had it was worse. He knew Charlie wasn't frivolous with his unique gift, did not use it in quidditch no matter the outcome, was tracked in his time bops in case of accidental travel or accidental impact.

Cho shook her head, dark hair flying around her. "No, he's off trying to find his long lost toy since Ginny is the most perfect, thoughtful, caring wife to be and all charmed up so it couldn't have been stolen or destroyed."

Cho shuddered involuntarily and he set down his fork in sudden loss of appetite. "She screamed and twitched because she's sleeping at Ralph's place. _He_ didn't realize she'd been forced to move into the one bedroom flat, that everyone is all crowded up for safety reasons because he keeps destroying our homes." A fearful glance, a true whisper, "He's supposed to be brilliant, isn't he? I- I can't see it."

Oliver understood her fear, shared it, whispered back. "No, but it's not like Fenrir Greyback built a pack with brains, just teeth. They're so loyal, my cousin refuses to even try Wolfsbane or listen on the rare occasions he turns up half starved."

He'd grown up in an area heavily targeted by Fenrir, had breezed through the werewolf essay at school, but never admitted to having them in the family until after he found about Professor Lupin's affliction and realized there was hope. Cho glanced up and fiddled with the knob again at seeing the baffled waiter with their breakfasts. They got their plates and he reached for his cutlery and Cho snatched it away. "Cho, stop transfiguring that thing into random objects. Just put it in your pocket or hide it away."

"I had it in my pocket, then you knocked me out, locked me in a Ministry cell and gave a stranger my robes. You lost it, not me." She gave him a glare, shoving his silverware back at him. "Here's your filthy fork, keep'."

"Sorry." He muttered it. "Just on edge, you know?"

"Hard not to be. Mrs. Davies was telling me it's starting to feel as desperately permanent as last time. There's not many people with faith left."

Oliver couldn't argue with that.

 **Harry**

CH 28/29: Night before they leave for the Hunt.

There was a sense of anticipation, tenseness, dread and excitement in the inhabitants of Shell at what the next few minutes would bring. Only Bill seemed completely at ease, having nipped over to Muriel's for a few minutes earlier in the day, his fingers absently twining one of Hermione's curls as he spoke gobbledygook with Griphook. Ron fiddled with the dial on the radio, spinning it twice left and once right.

It wasn't Lee Jordan hosting tonight, Luna's sweet voice echoing down the radio waves. "Welcome to Potterwatch, I'm filling in for River. He's still recovering from having his arm reattached. He lost it briefly."

Ron snickered and Harry grinned at Hermione, the majority of the wizarding world had not heard Luna's excellent quidditch commentary as Lee's chosen successor. "We have several special guests today, but first let's take a moment for the fallen.-"

The names washed over Harry in tension and worry, looking rapidly back and forth between Ron and Bill when she announced it. "Arthur Weasley was murdered. Order member, Ministry coworker, pureblood, muggle champion and one of the Pillars of our magic, keeping the wizarding and muggle worlds in balance. We're dangerously low on them because of this war and if the side of hatred is allowed to win magic will cease to exist here. It will bleed out on our battlefields, flee from our shores, our blood forcibly mixed to try and save it. We live under a Statue of Secrecy and have for generations, this aim of a magical regime over all of the commonwealth will fail as it has before again and again."

A glance shot at Hermione indicated she did and would explain later. Ron's grip on his firewhiskey was tight and Bill looked as though it wasn't the first time he'd heard the eulogy, possibly had written it. He was still lounging, finger in Hermione's hair, a tiny tightness around his non scarred eye that made Harry wonder what a Pillar was, if Bill had inherited the weight with the rest of his Head of Family duties.

Luna was heard shuffling papers, "In more cheerful news, we're all still breathing, including our first guest, Pudding. When the First War ended, she took on an ongoing Order assignment. She watched over Harry Potter as a child after his parents death as his favorite neighbor. Pudding is here to give fellow squibs protection advice and share some news with Mr. Potter."

"Harry?" It was Mrs. Figg's nervous voice and he tensed up, "I wanted you to know Mr. Tibbles is dead, I know you were fond of him."

"Who's-" Ron started.

"Her old fat cat. Her favorite." Harry explained, nerves tightening as Crookshanks licked his new companion mewing at the sound of her breeder's voice and death of her friend.

"He died fighting, Harry. I thought the dementors were back and picked him up, I can't do the spell you can, but he works the same." If Mrs. Figg's dead cat acted like a patronus for her, he did felt extremely bad he was gone as his Hedwig was.

"They came to take me hostage, dear boy, but Dumbledore didn't ask me to watch you for no reason." There was a strength in her voice Harry had never heard under the nervousness. His stomach was in knots. "Tell your Aunt I kept her flowers watered. I'd always wanted a pet pixie, since they've been releasing them over London nice young men from the Order have been capturing them and bringing them to me for safe keeping. A Death Eater blew my front door right off the hinges, but Mr. Tibbles bravely jumped right for the closet handle and let them loose."

She sniffled, Kingsley's voice coming in, "Royal here, magical creatures are excellent home protection as Pudding has just shown. Pudding, anything else you'd like to share?"

"The ghouless has your bicycle, Harry. She rode off like she was supposed to while I went for the car. She only just got off her trainer wheels after years and I thought you wouldn't mind if she had it."

"I love her." Harry blurted it out, he'd spent years in the dark, clueless that musty Mrs. Figg was in any way related to the magical world. Apparently spent years after not realizing she was a rather incredible lady and if she managed to teach her ghouless to ride a bike, Harry'd get a new one.

"If Mr. Lestrange hasn't shown back up, he's probably injured in Little Whinding. I ran over his wand and if anyone could help me fix my front fender, I'd be very much in your debt."

"I'm becoming a mechanic." Harry declared it feeling an incredible rush of personal triumph at Mrs. Figg's victory, seeing Ron and Hermione both wearing stupid grins as well.

"I'll help you, bumped the Ford Anglia enough I'm real quick at fender repair." Bill piped up and Harry nodded, gladly accepting this offer over his horcrux hunt help.

Luna was back on, "Thank you Pudding, it seems plenty of offers are coming in, even from those who don't know what a fendy is. I'd like to take a moment of silence for Mr. Tibbles before our next guest."

They heard Mrs. Figg burst into tears at the tribute, Crookshanks new companion patting at the radio to try and comfort her. Kingsley came back on, "Royal again, magical creatures are excellent protections, but it is crucial to have a clear and rapid escape plan as Pudding did. Please review your Ministry pamphlets with your family."

"Thank you, Royal. We're going to cover another escape plan inspired by the Battle of the Seven Potters. If you've not heard, Harry Potter left his childhood home under an Order guard with six other poly juiced Harrys as a distraction technique. Snitch, please take it away."

"Thanks. This is Snitch, if you need anything from the Chinese apothecary's please make your requests by owl post. I'd avoid them from now on. With a few other local communities as well." It was Cho Chang's voice, slightly smug sounding and Harry's heart did something strange in his chest at hearing it.

Kingsley came on and announced community after community that wizards were reminded to stay out of, just get what they needed by post due to protective measures taken. "Snitch has out run the other side on repeat. Death Eaters, those under the Imperious curse, inferi without being a strong duelist."

Cho was back on. "Go where you blend in if you're being hunted. I'd just heard about the Seven Harrys the first time they came for me at quidditch practice. I flew for Chinatown, ditched my robes and disappeared in the crowd. They throw anti-apparition charms as soon as they see you, so start running."

"Cho's being hunted?" He asked in alarm, the program booming out and Celestia Warback blaring in as the two sides fought for control.

Bill nodded. "She's been giving them hell for months. She was on Amos Diggory's team, just doesn't come to meetings. The informant only knows she's got something they want. Told our side they probably just wanted some sweet notes you'd written her, Harry. She does though, only Kingsley knows what, but she wrote it on cursed parchment-" A pop of a kiss onto Hermione's hair, "-so he can't say a thing. Found out after it got taken from Percy and Oliver Wood's Ministry stunt when all of their robes were changed into to get the muggleborns out."

The airwaves were theirs again as Harry tried to start processing the information, squeezing the socks he was holding. Ron wasn't in the same distress, just kept folding laundry. Cho sounded rather fierce, "I'd let us talk if I were you. You want to know what you're after? What I've got? I'll tell you at the end of the broadcast."

Hermione had a little grin on her face, "She and Ginny are in the same courtship group, wonderful influences on each other don't you think?"

No, Harry did not think so, his stomach starting to twist in worry. He didn't want Ginny doing Operation Annoy at all, most certainly didn't like the sound of Cho's determination either. Luna was back on, "Some of this is time sensitive. Chimes, all yours."

"Hi everyone!" It sounded slightly flustered, but Harry thought it was Katie Bell as Bill threw something at Ron, who caught it. "If you've received a necklace today, please put it on. It won't hurt you, it's for protective purposes. If you're with someone who received one, help them." Several beats of silence, her voice coming back on very gently, "Today is April 30th, 1998. Don't be alarmed if that sounds unfamiliar or your head feels groggy, you've been under the _Imperious Curse_ , but it's just been broken. I know it's scary, please grab your envelopes if you'd like to see a Healer or speak to someone who can help. In two minutes, the portkey will activate and we'll be waiting to help and heal you. Don't be alarmed that we all look the same, it's for our protection and yours."

Harry grinned wildly again, found Hermione smiling back, bouncing against Bill slightly. Good for Katie Bell, he really hoped she got to be a Healer like she wanted to. He wondered how they'd done it, who'd been working on the charm work and plan. "Think that's how St. Mungo's told her she'd been cursed by the necklace?"

Nods as Fred's voice came on, "Thanks Chimes. We'd like to personally thank Dolores Umbridge for donating her hair to our cause. It's come to the attention of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes that the Hollering Hooves and Clapping Coconuts from the _Horsing Around_ line distresses you into dropping your hairbrush from a fear of centuars. The two products will be discontinued."

"20 seconds." George's voice, "Don't worry, the owners haven't forgotten their muse. The new line of-"

Sounds of commotion and Harry found himself grinning crazily at them all again, Bill dropping him a wink. "Ron, slap yourself."

"What? No! You're mental, Bill." Ron threw back and Bill gestured to his hand, where he'd caught a little red token. Rage growing, "Did you put me under the _Imperious curse?"_

Bill shook his head, Hermione sheepishly admitting her role. "I wanted to practice, Ron. In case we need it. I didn't make you do anything other than see if it worked by having you fold laundry. It's been less than five minutes."

Ron threw the freshly folded laundry on the ground anyway and Hermione tensed against Bill, voice apologetic and tinged with the fear she'd been trying to overcome. "I was going to ask you to try it on Bill or I, we don't know if we'd both go under."

"Later." Harry cut in, they all needed to cool down, as Luna started talking again.

"How wonderful! We're happy to have helped, Demeter also sent gifts out today."

"Just a few flowers from some friends and I." It was Mrs. Weasley, a glance showed several vases over on their counter. "I hope you've already read your cards, if you haven't please do. There are no portkeys, just personalized messages."

It sounded like the microphone was ripped from Mrs. Weasley, "You know whatever, I don't know your name, nobody will tell me it and we couldn't get you your flowers. They're at the cottage you burned down, you've got lots of notes. You leave my son and his sweetheart alone, he's doing the proper wizard courtship with her and he's not her grandfather's age. Despite your blood ideas he is a proper wizard. Unlike you and-"

Harry looked over in alarm, Bill was shaking his head as the microphone was wrestled back. Ron handing out the little cards from the floral arrangements. "Ralph's mum. She's being sent out of the country tonight, she thinks its her war to fight now."

Hermione had a very tight look on her face, "My parents wanted to protect me too. It's why they're gone."

Bill kissed her hair again, tugging her closer and Harry tried to give her encouraging looks. Even the Dursleys had been put in protection and Uncle Vernon certainly wasn't going to cry if Harry got himself killed.

Kingsley came back on, "Royal again. Courtship is one of our most sacred traditions, if both parties are in possession of their own magic the Ministry will automatically accept suits for review. This process is older than our current understanding of bloodlines, requires no wand and is irrefutable. The Ministry has declared several young lovebirds magical despite lack of genealogical proof. If you are under blood status inquiry and in love, it is still the Ministry's only encouraged form of dating. New laws to encourage the practice are being discussed, the last version included a small stipend for courtship gifts."

"That's interesting." Hermione said thoughtfully, "But excellent, they can say we've stolen wands then. They can't undeclare our magic status, can they Bill? Not if it's recognized by their own?"

He nodded, "I don't think they will. You're heavily wanted, muggleborn, but they've not said you're not a witch since we wed, love."

Ron looked up, horrified, looking over at his daffodils. "Mum is sending out flowers just to insult people. Mine's nice, but she-"

"She's grieving, Ron." Bill said it gently, but smiled, "Alicia Spinnet's dad is a florist, only just recently found his favorite crazy customer is Ralph's mum, who's been sending insult flowers for years to the muggle press. Ginny told Mum that everyone always reads the card. Percy dropped off a massive amount of desk arrangements at the Ministry for some fake appreciation day this morning."

"Mine's sweet." Hermione smiled softly at it, showing Bill and Harry opened his.

 _Please be careful, Harry dear. You just take care of yourself and Ron, leave everything else to us and don't worry about a thing._

He opened his mouth to say something, Charlie's voice booming through the wireless. "Quick announcement, if you see a green dragon, leave him alone and send up six green sparks. We'll come to get him, I'd like to happily announce Britain has had it's first true dragon queening in six hundred years. Proud parents are Helena, Hungarian Horntail of Romania and Angus, Green Welsh of Scotland and they've got a nest full of nine little golden queens. I assume you're all cheering and clapping madly." A pause and Bill rolled his eyes, "Want to be a dragon tamer? Application cycle closes in mid June, job perks are a beautiful home in nature, -"

"I believe that's best suited for the Daily Prophet job boards section." McGonagall cut in, "This is Tartan for the Hogwarts edition. A general request to parents, if your child will be leaving school for any reason to come home, please coordinate with their Head of House so we know they are safe. No children have been taken from within Hogwarts walls, but our young Potterwatch host was taken from the platform and held hostage at winter term. An unfortunate precedent that makes us assume the worst if they abruptly stop attending classes. A general reminder for castle residents, we are still in the process of collecting all of the tripping shrubs. If you see them hiding or hear them snickering, please alert a staff member."

"Neville?" Hermione guessed and Harry nodded.

"Most likely. Hope he's giving Snape hell."

Luna was back again, "Thank you Tartan, hi Hogwarts. I was moved by all of the well wishes that came through about being a captive." A dreamy pause, "Mrs. Malfoy, my cell should probably be checked on. I planted the seeds I had in my pocket, they're quite dangerous by now. I also left an earring, but it's a nice protection if you would like it."

Harry shook his head, but it was nice to know Luna was prepared. A longer dreamy pause, "Since we're discussing protection in today's show, I'd like to highlight the _turgiculus_ curse. Turgies will erupt in your opponent's ears, or in You-Know-Who's case on his face when I hexed him. He doesn't have ears, I believe he had to give them up to Charon while we all thought he was dead. Hmmm, but a Quibbler reader wrote in and said a Grim bit them off, which is also very plausible."

Harry cracked up, "Bet Sirius would have loved that one."

"Snitch is dancing anxiously, would you like to come back on and finish up?"

"Yes, thank you. I've got courtship group tonight and I don't want to be late for our game of Riddles." A pause and Harry could feel Cho weighing her words, choosing who she was speaking to. "If you're seeking something, game's on. There was a ball in the Department of Mysteries tagged for You-Know-Who and the last girl a TriWizard Champion kissed before their Final Task. Cedric Diggory was killed the night You-Know-Who came back, it broke my heart and put my name on the ball. Want it?" A raging fierceness poured through the radio waves, "Come and take it. Catch me if you can."

Harry felt like he'd been slightly throttled around the neck by the intensity she'd just poured into her words, Luna's voice coming back on. "Per usual with quidditch matches, the Snitch will be released at noon. Boundaries are the British Isles."

He felt sick to his stomach, that was when Ginny's date with Lord Voldemort was supposed to end. He shot desperate looks around, voice rising as Luna announced the next password and air date. "What is Cho doing? We've got to stop her. She'll get herself killed. You know how He is about prophecies."

Bill had a rather determined look on his face, "She's providing us coverage for when we leave the day after. They'll be chasing her, not us."

He nodded mutely, glad Bill didn't seem to know his timeline was off and he'd wake up around the same time if Hermione actually drugged him like she said she would. Griphook changing the conversation, "Hermione Weasley? Does that not apply to your relationship with the Durmstang champion as well?"

She nodded, squeezing Bill's hand to soften the already known information. "Maybe the contents made it clear it was about Cho with Cedric dying."

Harry had a niggling feeling it wasn't Cho's prophecy at all, he hadn't kissed anyone ever before the third task, but hadn't he kissed Ginny plenty before the Final Task of this horcrux hunt? It wasn't that it couldn't be about Cho, Lord Voldemort and possibly Cedric, or Hermione and Viktor. It was just he and Ginny were the only two people he knew of that had prophecies tying them to Him. The one that killed his parents Voldemort's choice between Harry and Neville, Ginny's determined by Lucious Malfoy.

Hermione was still musing, "Or maybe it's about you and Cho, Harry. You two were snogging before we went into the Department of Mysteries and destroyed them all, could be a Final Task in erasing the Hall of Prophecy. I can't imagine walking into a maze and getting immediately put under the Imperious curse counted much for Viktor. Could also be whoever he's with before his last quidditch match?"

"I don't want Cho doing it." He stated and got met with a mix of looks.

"Can't really stop her, mate." Ron offered, sharing a glance with Hermione that Harry could read easily. They thought he was overreacting. This was their friends, their friends offering distractions so they could end a war, but Ron wouldn't have to carry the guilt the way Harry knew he would if Cho got hurt or killed. The nasty stab every time he saw Hermione's scar and knew it was his fault, he'd said the name, Ron had tried to stop him. The sleepless nights over Ginny's safety on the hunt and now, unable to comprehend why or how her suitor was in any way alright with letting her talk to Voldemort in her head. If she were still his, if she'd wanted to be, and he could have turned Voldemort off rather than on he'd make sure he was off continuously. She wasn't and his kisses were even more dangerous for her than he'd thought when he'd left her after Dumbledore's funeral.

He got up and started to pick up the laundry Ron had thrown onto the ground, feeling the tension come back between Ron, Hermione and Bill. They couldn't go on the hunt like this, not with Ron in a temper and Hermione wrestling with being afraid of him. Bill was watching them both closely, his arm around her closer than it had been moments ago. Harry met his eyes. "I'm going to grab the pensive. I've got a memory I should get out and might help, Hermione."

He got it, tugged the silvery memory out with his wand and dropped it in, falling in with Bill and Hermione right after. It was the Gryffindor common room, third year and he Ron and Hermione were sitting with others of their year at a table near the portrait hole working on essays for Charms.

They were close enough Harry could hear a girl locked out, trying the old password on repeat. Dean could too and started to yell. "The new password is-"

Ron whacked him and got up, voice sharp. "There's a murderer on the loose. I'll get go her."

"Who?" Harry asked in confusion, it wasn't any voice he recognized.

"I think it's Ginny Weasley." Neville offered and his pensive self looked a bit startled.

"She never spoke around me." Harry told Bill and Hermione, who nodded in remembrance, looking at her own younger self.

Ron came back through, carrying a school bag, saying over his shoulder. "You shouldn't be at the library so late, it's not safe with Sirius Black on the loose. What's your essay for?"

"Potions, on the properties of-" She saw Harry and swallowed down her words. Harry bent his head back down to his books.

"I'll look over it upstairs and help you, Ginny. I'm done with my work." Harry's thirteen year old self looked directly at Ron's essay that had only a paragraph done and at Hermione, who was starting to rise, looking at it too, more voices could be heard outside the portrait hole.

Ron and Ginny both immediately heading to let the twins in and pass on the new password. Ginny went out and they all came back through, voices clearer Fred looking at George in alarm. "Do we have a Potions essay due tomorrow?"

"Yes and Transfiguration." Angelina Johnson answered from a different table.

Oliver Wood's voice booming down from the stairwell "You have to pass to play."

He and Percy appeared shortly after, paranoia all over him. "How many of you have homework due tomorrow that's not done?"

Every quidditch player's hand went up, "Library now. Reservists too."

"It's closed." Hermione offered up.

"I've got a note from McGonagall. Up. Up." Harry started to pack his bag, knowing he'd have to go and others started heading out of the portrait hole.

"I'll see you later." He told his friends.

"Don't you have a note too?" Rona asked Hermione who nodded.

"It'll be quieter here though. We can finish up together." She changed seats to sit where Harry had been, so she could see what Ron was writing.

"Ginny, come sit with us." Ginny too was heading back for the portrait hole.

"She's one of Potter's backups. In case-."

"I'm working on it." Harry cut in, looking both embarrassed and a bit dejected at the thought of dementors.

"Harry you should stay." Hermione offered, suddenly looking worried as the rest of them went out.

There was anger on Harry's face, "If Sirius Black wants to find me I'm sure the Fat Lady will appreciate not getting slashed again. I'm going to the library."

...

They fell backwards out of the pensive as Harry was climbing through the portrait hole and Hermione and Ron were both trying to get him to stay. Hermione looked thoughtful, "That makes more sense, I've been trying to figure third year out. I remember it a bit differently from what she did to me."

Harry nodded sadly, "I thought you might from hearing you talk to Crookshanks. It was actually Ron whose leg got broken by Padfoot. Let me see if I can go calm him down over the Imperious curse, okay?"

"Thanks." She agreed, looking up at Bill and Harry made himself scarce. He imagined she wanted to spend the evening with him before they left in the morning.

* * *

A/N: Reviews loved!


	38. Take down date

A/N: If you're reading this at the moment and would like it briefly left up, please let me know. The story is a few years old and the story stats aren't clear enough without direct commentary to leave it up past Sunday Jun 10th, 2018.


	39. requests

A/N: I'm overwhelmingly flattered by you all! I'm still tweaking the B/H remnants, because I want them to be very on point, but I've been offering request writings to PMs. I'm not sure if they belong in a different story or just thrown here, but here's what's been happening.

Requests: 1) I can't get over Neville carrying out Blaise and not knowing who he fought for. Draco not knowing either. That's all I want ;)

2) What happened the day Ginny got the diary?

Short Answer: Friendship.

Blaise was listening to Malfoy's latest pomp as they changed classes and felt the familiar tug on his bag in the corridor. Crabbe had been brushed up against it too and stopped walking, "What do you want?"

"A moment without stench." It was sneeringly said, a glance at the rest of the group that had paused, "Malfoy, excuse my tardiness."

He didn't bother to wait for a confirmation and swanned off, the burning bag directing him to whatever childhood friend in a different house badly needed a chat. It led him to Seamus Finnigan, Neville Longbottom and Michael Cornier in a girls' toilet. He drawled it out, "Whaaat?"

"I need a potions partner. So does Seamus." Michael replied.

"Pair up then. Nev?" Blaise didn't give a sickle about Michael, however Seamus was related to one of his mother's husbands. He wasn't heartless, Neville had always been there through the various home changes, Mrs. Augusta's home often where he'd been sent while his mother was investigated.

Neville gave him a laughable look, "Potions certainly isn't on my schedule. They're not as rubbish as I was, did alright on their OWLs."

"You were on the Inquisitorial Squad. I don't know if I can swallow it." Michael Cornier was both insulted and outraged in his allegiance changing ways that kept getting him dumped. Blaise hadn't technically been on the squad, but had learned the patronus charm and a few others when patrolling focused on hearing what they were up to.

"Finnigan then. No complaining. No explosions. No Gryffindor attempts at trying to get a date."

Seamus was grinning, "Quidditch talk alright? Think we root for the same team."

"We'll suit." Yes, they did and it wasn't quite the Chudley Cannons of disaster, but it was theirs. They both had witch mothers who'd deceived their husbands, read the Daily Prophet and over time a bond formed. Neither would call it friendship, would both repeatedly decry their interhouse mandated potions pairing and glare frequently at each other as Hogwarts quidditch heated up.

He'd known Neville all of his life, but Finnigan didn't have the same innate loyalty of nursery friends. Finnigan was loud mouthed, vocally unrepentant on his views and fairly hilarious from time to time. He was admired for who he was, not for how he looked as Blaise was. They weren't friends. Their potions failures spectacularly indicated that.

Blaise waited at the edge of breakfast for him, presumably to talk about the Daredevil Draught they were doing today. A draught he thought was utterly ridiculous to teach in wartime, but he kept his nose out of things. Finnigan was practically skipping and by day's end would probably land himself another punishment or sling. It was loud in the breakfast exodus, so he took the chance. "Glad he made it."

Finnigan's grin couldn't have been achieved even with an overdose of cheering charms, his chest puffed a bit as if Dean Thomas' survival on the run was his own personal triumph. Blaise liked Dean, envied the unfettered freedom he had to be friends with who he felt like, say what he felt like, date who he felt like. Finnigan's sleeve brushed up, he was one of the fools who'd scrawled _Mudblood_ on his arm. "I'd cover that."

"No." It was immediate, "You hated Hermione."

"Hate. Present tense, Finnigan. She's alive, isn't she?" The two 6th year Slytherins behind him snickered in delight, but Finnigan caught the tone those behind him didn't.

He played his part anyway, "You're soulless, Zabini."

"Someone's got to be. You'll chop and I'll brew." He responded as they turned off towards the potions classroom, quieter but until they were at their station no conversation could be held.

"Like always." Finnigan replied as they turned in to the daunting potions room, emptier for upper year classes, but forcefully cheerful from Professor Slughorn's efforts. All potions were done in pairs, extremely unusual for N.E.W.T. Level classes, but Slughorn had done enough lip service hinting at possible poison making and student spies most classes now used the pair method. Silencing charms allowed around each pair in the gluttonous hopes one of Dumbledore's followers was stupid enough to run their mouth to their partner.

Professor Slughorn stopped by their table on Seamus' side, adjusting the adrenaline ingredient on the cutting board and Seamus nodded. He came around to Blaise's side, lifting the spoon left in moonlight. "One stir per minute yields the best results."

There was a glamour on his arm, Blaise could see that much. Slughorn suspected him, distrusted him and Blaise felt the same about his Head of House. He also understood him, neither of them dealt in foolish loyalties. "A Daredevil Draught needs patience?"

"Secret ingredient to it, my boy." Professor Slughorn moved off and he turned to Finnigan, the precisely arranged cutting board with uniform chops.

He measured things out, surprised at the next hissed words out of Finnigan's mouth. "Dean wants to know if you'd like your dad protected."

It was a good thing Blaise wasn't holding the knife, "I don't have a dad."

"Toss off. You must've pissed yourself when Dean and I-."

Seamus found himself abruptly mute and Blaise took a moment to process the pros and cons. His father was muggle, was not one of his mother's many rich husbands and the only stable adult in his life, which was a very, very hidden thing. A supremely dangerous hidden thing in these times. Yes, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan had been inconveniently at the same restaurant on family holiday and Dean had foolishly wanted to say hello. Seamus knew his blood status, could ruin him if things got even darker than they were.

"Yes." Blaise released the muteness on Finnigan. "I'll have to see where work has him."

"Aye. First batch is ready to cook." Seamus indicated the portion of the cutting board. "Owl off requesting leprechauns and it'll get sorted."

"You can't sell leprechauns."

"Letter will land in my Mum's hands. She's the leprechaun liason." He picked up the spoon and Blaise snatched it back, giving one gentle stir and setting it far out of fiery Finnigan's reach.

…..

Blaise was shaken awake by Seamus Finnigan. "Get up."

He reached for his wand, finding it gone. "Get up."

He got up, looking at the other beds. "Are they dead?"

"You'll need to ennervate them when you get back. Get up." The voice belonged to a shadowy bloke blocking most of the doorway.

Wandless and in pajamas he went. Seamus was adrenaline high and Blaise's heart slowed from racing at seeing who it was. Ralph Robinson, also cursed with muggle famous parents who Blaise could recognize from glancing evening parties with his dad. It wasn't solace, as far as Blaise had heard Robinson was the sole reason a law was written stripping dual magical citizenship from foreign wizards.

"I'm not here by my own will. I'm a hostage." Blaise said it for the curious paintings as they entered the common room and got dragged out by Seamus.

"Where's the Chamber of Secrets?" It was a snap. He was furious, anger palatable, a journal in his hand.

"I don't know." Blaise responded in kind, almost a shout, "We all got obliviated to prevent it opening again."

"Wilting Lilies. I repeat Wilting Lilies. Portraits if you know where the Chamber of Secrets is, you're honor bound to tell me. Wilting Lilies." It was shouted, bellowed, and a little knight on a horse barreled through paintings and showed up.

"I'll lead you!"

So Blaise found himself on an unexpected middle of the night portrait chase running down hallways as his captors shouted about flowers at random and he shouted his hostage status. They turned a corner and found themselves face to face with the caretaker, Neville, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. Wands flew into Robinson's possession as he spoke. "Wilting Lilies. Where's the Chamber of Secrets?"

"It's off limits. You're out of bounds being here, boy."

"Tell me where it is or run off and wake someone who will, Filch. Wilting Lilies, you're not bloody deaf." A frustrated pause, the book he was carrying waved around. "Want me to write You-Know-Who and tell him you're a good boy? Ginny's down there and he's going to kill her. Where is it? I've got a Slytherin to open it."

"That's not how it works. I don't speak parseltongue or anything like that." Blaise offered, not to escape at this point, because his night had gotten very, very interesting. "If you give me my wand back I-"

He caught the book thrown at him, the quill a moment after. "Ask your master where it is and how I can get it open. He's being a pisser."

Blaise didn't want to help anymore, even before he could form a response Neville had ripped it from his hands and was writing. Finnigan was trying to push a window up, Blaise went to him and helped. "Snakes should do it, I think. Can you do the summoning charm?"

" _Accio_ snakes."

Lavender's slack jaw lifted and she fled as the first ones hit the window, Parvati all but knocking her down in their attempts to flee, "Moaning Myrtle's bathroom! The entrance is there!"

The onslaught of snakes stopped. "The castle isn't open for non magical visitors, Mr. Robinson. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Ginny Weasley is in the Chamber of Secrets and I-"

"I'm aware." Whether the intruder hit a warlock's rage or utterly and completely lost his hold on composure Blaise had no idea, but his captor's aura made things very clear.

"Wilting Lilies." A pause, no change in their Headmaster's expression until the surprise a second before the fist hit his jaw. The tall bloke caught him, yanked his jacket off and shoved it under his head as he lowered him to the ground. "Bastard." A look up at them, no triumph on his face, perhaps a touch of embarrassment, hand running down where he'd struck him. "His own damn codephrase. Keep him out til we're gone, I'll give you a wand to set vital watch. Give me the diary back."

The possessor of the journal was crying, furious tears rushing down his face, quill clutched in his hand. Blaise went over to get the diary from Neville, seeing the words. _Your parents were weak, too cowardly to die and chose being simpletons instead. That is their only legacy._

He shut it and passed it over, feeling sickened in the deepest part of his stomach. "If you want a distraction to get her out we'll need wands."

Robinson looked around at the corridors and picked up a few snakes, shoving a wand at Neville. "The others will pop out in ten near Blimney the Baffled."

He took off and Blaise looked at Seamus, not entirely knowing what to do headed off to where their wands would appear. "How'd you get into the Slytherin dungeons?"

"Wilting Lilies. Turns out there's always been an emergency code for staff and St. Mungo's. Can't believe he slugged Snape like that. Awesome, but no way to duel."

"What do we do with Filch?" Blaise asked, still not entirely sure what to do with himself.

Seamus gave a wicked grin, "Give him something to clean up. Never been fond of the third floor's singing windows. Half the professors are gone tonight so it's all ours."

They headed that way, Seamus idly telling a deaf warlock in emerald green. "Took a hostage this time."

The landing was bare of portraits and Blaise yawned, pleased Flich hadn't followed them. The deaf warlock shouted at them. "Which lass are you dueling up here over? Courtship suits a coming!"

He cackled and Blaise ran his hand along the window in a mirror of Seamus', voice a mutter, "They're changing laws, Finnigan. File if you've got a girl who'll spend a private mo' with you. Aim for the birds."

Ravenclaw was going to be decimated if it passed, their bright pureblood daughters confined to different towers. Blaise knew the trouble being good looking could bring, the trouble his mother faced and he avoided, the trouble Cho Chang was facing. There was no time, out of breath arrivals arrived, professors, dratted Mrs. Norris, Hagrid, Lavender, Parvati, snakes and ghosts. There was no plan, no poison. There was just Seamus Finnigan.

"I love her more than you!" Seamus' screamed, his hex hurt enough Blaise hit the ground and rolled away from one of the snakes. He got up and ran like mad after the rest of them, ran back to where they'd been and found himself at another horrific standoff.

The Carrows had Madame Pomfrey, Ginny Weasley wearing a man's shirt, clinging to her wizard and clearly being checked at drawn wands. "Ginevra Weasley has been truant from school. We need to check-"

Ralph Robinson's response was full barreled. "Fuck that. _Ginevra. Molly.-"_

 _"_ _Rubeus-"_

….

He woke in the Hospital Wing to an argument, his last memory of bats breaking out all the windows and going out one himself. "Finnigan said it was over a girl."

"Seamus Finnegan is a known liar, Professor. He's of your house and you weren't present last night."

"I was on a date." The Scottish accent was distinctive.

"Minerva-"

Blaise sat up, Finnigan's protective voice unmistakable. "Professor McGonagal is a widow and spends time graveside grieving. Toss off, Carrow."

An infuriated hiss, Neville's voice coming from somewhere, "Take it to the Headmaster then, Carrow. Right Madame Pomfrey?"

"Yes. He'll take a look at how the protections were breached and what staff was on hand. Do tale another swallow now. May I look at the bite on your shoulder?" Curtains rustling.

Blaise's curtain was ripped open, no Healer, just Professor Slughorn. "Let me fix that for you, boy!' He bent down and fluffed the pillow, "Brugge."

His dad was safe and Blaise's heart sung with boldness to the point he abandoned his tightly held actions. When Finnigan and Longbottom were about to be released from the Hospital Wing into the Carrows' custody he channeled his mum. "Professor Carrow?"

She paused and glanced at him, he looked back with every ounce his Mum had taught him. "I know."

It was all it took. Usually.

She turned into a statue, he inclined his head at Hagrid's hulking figure on another bed, and got off his own bed. He leaned in as he passed them, "Failure makes you expendable, Carrow."

…

When battle came and Blaise saw Finnigan in a giant spider's mouth he intervened. Finnigan had blinded it, Blaise threw hexes on Seamus' command since he seemed to know what worked and between the two of them drowned the terrifying creature.

He dove in to drag Finnigan out, finding Dean Thomas diving from a sprint as well, but Seamus was already bobbing up, unhurt and a bit startled, silver mesh covered arms lighting up with the reflections of spells thrown. He grinned at them, a deranged battle grin. "There's a whirlpool, Durmstrang is coming. Let's blow their ship to smithereens."

So Blaise found himself tagged as team Potter and dueled as such providing land coverage so two insane Gryffindors could explode a ship. A moment's pause in watching it blow was enough to be struck down by a Bulgarian. He woke at dawn in a slim white bed to the news of the outcome with Finnigan by his bedside giving cunning instructions to keep his mouth shut and to echo what was said.

* * *

A/N: Best kept here or popped off into a separate story given the time crunch? If you read this, I adore you!


	40. Booklist

A/N: More random related Shifting Tide Universe stuff. I'm still doing requests and polishing up a nice B/H epilogue. I don't have a hard take down date just yet, so it's getting to stay up longer than expected!

* * *

An abbreviated booklist from Quibbler Publishing, * indicate muggle publication as well

 _Pomegranate Seeds*_ (G. Weasley)

Dear Diary. Two words, a simple greeting, was all it took to turn her life and those of everyone around her into a nightmare where friends weren't what they seemed and good intentions paved a road never meant to be walked.

 _Persephone*_ (G. Robinson, R. Robinson, T. Riddle)

The gates of Hell have reopened, the diary is back and the stakes are so much higher. Sunlit love, dark obsession and the sickening realization that this twisted triangle might be the only thing keeping two sides of a war in balance. What do you do when you might be the only bridge between two sides, the only chance to stop him from destroying the world?

* * *

 _Date like a Dragon_ (C. Weasley, D. McLaggen, R. Robinson) When it gets down to it, women are women and there's definite balance to finding your mate. How to catch her eye, impress her, fend off your competition and dodge the fire she's going to throw at you.

Excerpt:

In dragon mating, the males often begin the wooing process by bringing their potential queen food, as this will be a vital duty when she is nesting. We work the same way, initial wooing often occurs over shared meals, progressively larger and more intimate ones. The experts debate methodologies:

Weasley: Coffee, definitely start small, make sure she likes sugar and will share her pastry with you. This is key to future relationship happiness, if you like to share and she doesn't, conflict ahead.

McLaggen: After you've had a drink together, skip the coffee and take her to dinner, somewhere normal because girls have lots of weird eating rules. Be wary of these rules, they will make you abide by them sooner or later.

Robinson: When I lived on the Reserve it was straight for dinner, get away from canteen food. I'd known my little queen for a long time so we skipped all the awkward nervous laughter part over Italian, but she loved when I cooked for her. Plus, you see how they'll do in your territory, if they'll want to help, want to boss how you're doing it, snoop about, offer to help clean up. Those can be encouraging signs or red flags.

Weasley: Oh yeah, the cooking thing! At least be able to properly boil pasta and lay a cheese plate, pop champagne and if you're at a starting point reference our dragon approved to impress recipes at the back. If you can't cook, just you know, buy dessert and put flowers on your table.

McLaggen: Robinson and my recipes, Charlie, who is a disaster in the kitchen, was our tester and got deemed successful. The process was replicated on other culinarily challenged dragon tamers until perfected.

(Editor's note: Weasley claims slander against his cooking ability, the editors begrudgingly agreed he can make toasted cheeses and his queen claims to enjoy his cherry tart.)"

* * *

 _Court like a Dragon_ (R. Hagrid, R. Robinson, dedicated to Oliver Wood and Roger Davies)

You were crazy enough to do it. Now how do you survive it? From rule making to rule breaking, handling countersuits, group sessions and single combat. Getting her to say yes was the easy part.

Excerpt:

It's vital to remember you're not just courting her, but her family as well, they're trusting you with their daughter and that's something that needs to be acknowledged and celebrated during her transition from their home to yours. When courtship gift shopping invite her female relatives, you will regret this and at one point sit somewhere surrounded by bags with your head in your hands becoming best mates with the security guard who is concerned that you're having a breakdown. Wildly wondering why you've done this to yourself, but they'll have a great time and a great memory. Here is when you pull that courtship group andon cord and have a mate bring you a pint and laugh, tell you you'll survive it and shove you back in the game. For example, I know nothing about pots and pans, would probably have bought whatever I saw first, yet her Mum had very strong opinions and those are the pots and pans that will be in my kitchen for years. Let the Mums pick them, let them pick all of the basic things you're supposed to get, they know better than you and it makes them very happy. Freakishly happy, happiness on a level you have never seen before, to be fair you've also probably never seen an intense discussion about wooden spoons and durability.

Here are the basics:

1) Give them cash, keeps to your budget and you can 'divide and conquer' to preserve your sanity.

2) You are solely responsible for all required gifts you deem personal, take input as you will, but you do not farm out anything you'll be asking your queen to wear as a public acknowledgment. Be a dragon and handle the jewelry, she'll love you more for it and since you'll be buying a lot for her over the course of your lives might as well start figuring out what she likes now. Dragon tip: Find the goblin artist you want and befriend them, then be loyal as hell.

Queen aside: Or in our case, beat a goblin at cards, have them make the acceptance gift and when the mate loves it so much decide to stick with a formula that works and use it as the excuse to keep playing cards.

3) Use your courtship group, go together for some of the scarier gifts. Chances are you might not have ever bought lingerie, they might not have, but you're going to want sit around with a pint and bemoan that you're not going to get to see her in it until it's wedding day. Take a trusted female friend for that one, see the appendix for the list on 'bedroom trousseaux' as a guide (dedicated to Dora Lupin, who kept three little suitors from losing their way).

* * *

 _Chaperone like a Dragon_ (B. Weasley, C. Weasley, H. Weasley, M. Weasley, E. Robinson, R. Robinson)

It's an honor to be a courtship chaperone, it's also a pain. How to handle everything from letting go, making the charts, managing dates and letting love grow without losing your mind as a chaperone.

Excerpt:

Bill: It's hard enough building a new relationship, those first tentative missteps, it's even harder under the watchful eyes of chaperones. Don't watch so much, give space, because as much as you don't want to see her get hurt they need to have that chance to explore how to talk to each other for when you're not there and they won't be British formal about it. Your job as a chaperone is to help guide them and grow their relationship into a happy marriage, not in any way to hinder or limit that. Your other job is to try not to roll your eyes at them and recall that you too, were once very besotted and unable to hide it. It was constant, it was baffling to watch them somehow never manage to break physical contact at the dinner table, despite knife usage and the inane need to attempt to anticipate each other's every food want. Our intended so obviously wanted to impress him with her cooking that our suitor ate a huge helping of something he was allergic to, said he needed a word with Charlie to get the spell done.

Charlie: Oh man, I forgot about that. The hardest part I think was guiding the differences in privacy about affection, both with chaperones and the public. We had a suitor, who unless it was some extreme circumstance, was very private with an intended who was very affectionate and used PDA to manage her jealousy. We dig into that more in 'Chaperoning in Public', part of the larger issue of managing your couple in a way that makes everyone comfortable. Really important when you're couple is courting at school and you're not a parent who's chaperoning, so it's a different dynamic.

Elena: That's one of the important ones, especially when they're not in an audience that knows they're courting. We had a bit of a fumble the first few times, before we settled on how to explain courting to muggles, family members and strangers alike when one of them let the word courtship or suitor slip. Had to decide that quite a bit of the rules were flexible in these cases, especially in regards to fashion, large formal events and setting boundaries with coworkers. If you're from a non-magical family you'll want to read the chapters by the Robinsons, we focus on understanding courtship from the muggle view, how to explain it to muggles, how to talk with the other family on touchy topics like if you count as a chaperone and the fact their child will be living with you for part of duration of courting to build family ties. Cherish that time, use it to really get to know who your child has chosen and if they aren't familiar with the muggle world, see the appendix on 'muggling it up' to ensure everyone stays sane and appliances stay unbroken.

Roger: Lessons learned from our failure at that, it was a huge adjustment in realizing the witch had never had a telly, could not work the remote, which she still calls the 'telly wand', phone, microwave or anything at all in our house. I wasn't real patient on this part, hid the remotes from her in some pointless attempt to not come home every day and have to fix whatever she'd done to the telly. There is a lot of explaining that needs to be done to survive in the muggle world. Here's what we learned:

1) Make your suitor or witch give them a detailed tour and do the explaining for everything they don't recognize. They'll be more patient than you, have the right comparisons and find it endearing when their intended gets really fascinated by the light switches or tv.

2) They will miss something, take a deep breath when you get asked a question that a toddler would ask and remember they just don't know. Example: Our sprinklers went on at night and as we were under protective detail at the time, Ginny immediately assumed we were being attacked and came barreling in to wake us up and evacuate us.

3) When they tell you they know about something, take it with a grain of salt and proceed cautiously. There will be things they're mispronouncing and it's on you to figure out what exactly they're even talking about, this goes for the wizarding world at large.

4) Make them a muggle identity (Appendix: 'muggle identification'). This will save you a headache down the line, whether it's somewhere they need to show identification to get in, paperwork, or various other situations. It's a process that has existed for a long time between the two worlds and has been recently streamlined.

'How to Explain Courting to a Muggle'

It wasn't unexpected that we'd eventually end up giving an explanation to strangers about their relationship. The first time was at a formal muggle event for their Prime Minister, a very large gala, where our intended very much caught her dinner companion's eye and her suitor was seated elsewhere. He very much wanted to take her out, see her again, she demurred and let the word drop, she was under _courtship._ This man had no idea what that meant and gave her a blank stare, she gave me a panicked glance as the barrage of questions began at our table. Depending on the muggle culture courting isn't even a word on the radar, they just date, they might have heard of arranged marriages, but voluntary courting seems outlandish in these modern times. It was a mind shift for us too, listening to the initial baffling explanation that our grown son was entering some sort of heavily structured dating that needed chaperones because presumably, young people cannot control themselves if left alone. As the mother that raised that young man to be a respectful dragon, it felt rather like a personal insult to be told he couldn't be trusted by wizard law and because we were muggles, he wasn't sure if we would even count as chaperones.

We didn't tell this man any of that. He doesn't need to know any of their business, any of the details, though he kept asking. I handled the situation by explaining that she came from a very traditional family (old-fashioned or non-mainstream work too) and it's just a more formal process of dating. You'll get asked if they're very religious or in a cult, but we didn't like those connotations for the wizarding world. People tend to get very curious at this point and it's best to sort the conversation quickly. Here are the basics to stick to when talking to muggles:

It's a formal dating process, no different than how it was years ago.

Yes, there are chaperones and guides in the process.

They chose each other because of their mutual affection, it wasn't forced.

No, it isn't binding, just like dating they're free to breakup if they want to.

Don't go into more than that, just excuse yourself and take your courter with you because it descends into extremely invasive questions of 'Can you kiss?' and things along those lines or questions about the wizard upbringing, 'Wait, so you didn't have a telly growing up?'

Long term compilation project, publication date to be determined when all children mentioned are adults and can decide if the world should have insight into their lives. (On good authority we have it that they are alright with publication, as long it is released concurrently with their own compilation book on how dorky their dads are):

* * *

 _Daddy like a Dragon_ (Ra. Robinson, C. Weasley featuring: Ro. Robinson, B. Weasley, F. Weasley, G. Weasley, R. Weasley, H. Potter, D. Malfoy)

A series of fathering vignettes, the wins and the misses and the lessons learned. At one point you had your best mate's back in a fight, now you still have it, but now it's to point out he's got an empty spot in his wagon and you think he's probably missing a kid. Questioning just why your brother has got an airhorn or just what you're to do when your kids are trying to carry on an old rivalry.

Highlights include:

"Of the birds, the bees and Weasleys.' (C. Weasley)

Now, I've had some practice on this conversation as an older brother and professor, but somehow I'm still taken off guard. This really isn't quite where I thought we'd be having this talk, or that we'd be gathering honey from our bees, one and all nicely tucked into our beekeeper suits. There's charms, but the various Weasley clutches find the little suits are much more fun. I also didn't expect to have quite the mass of curious little faces looking up at me, some mine, most not and most assuredly knew I was going to mess this up.

I started out well, asked them how they thought babies showed up. Don't do that. Don't make that initial mistake when faced with so many little ones. You'll spend the next forty five minutes of your life holding a honeycomb trying to parse out how storks, swans and spiders all deliver babies and preventing fights amongst children calling each other liars. If you're anything like me, you'll also get drawn into a very curious discussion on all of the different theories, mainly to avoid talking about the taboo of what goes on between Mummy and Daddy in their room or nest…..

"Don't jump until I'm there to catch you!" (Ra. Robinson and C. Weasley) The bellowing order is of course ignored as the little excited dragon, who is just learning to swim, but has magciked himself up to the very top of a diving competition board. The little dragon is taking the board at a sprint, Robinson looks like he's in a hurdle competition just jumping over barriers, like coolers, a women bent over, ropes in his way. I am calm and just hit the little sucker with a bubble head charm, a glance shows his queen is smacking her little airborne dragon with a floatation charm, with a light bemusement at her king's panicked antics. Daddy and son hit the water at the same time and wild cheering from the mass of children around us erupts. I realize we're likely going to be kicked of this muggle pool as sister has already decreed I must repeat the charms, because all of her tremendously excited clutch are now rushing at the ladder, another already sprinting down. A chant has started, "Go dragon go!"

Little hopeful eyes are looking up at me then to their Mum, huge and pleading, they too want to run, splash and be cheered for, but my queen is one for the rules. Most of the time. "Oh, just take them. I'll do the charms."

Bazinga! Off we go, Daddy waiting in the deep end. It's a powerful thing to see your kids overcome their fears, it is the scared ones who run the fastest and splash the loudest, whose little proud smiles make you glance over at your wife to share in their triumph.…..

 _"_ Ready to Fly." (R. Robinson)

I hand a paper to Charlie, inquiring what it is, a glance, it's a quidditch play the kids are working on. He pauses, listens and suddenly looks very paranoid, a call, no response a glance to where the adult brooms are normally leaning. There are two brooms missing and he's out the door in seconds, I grab his and rush after him, throwing it at him just as he's turning back for it, hollering at me. "Start throwing cushioning charms."

He's airborne, trying to talk sense at them. "Wait, wait! Let Daddy try it first!"

They're grinning and he starts trying to slam their brooms with freeze charms, which they are dodging and laughing at. I settle in, I've been Charlie's second in enough duels to see that I'll probably have to bail him out, because all he is doing is escalating the situation. They are going to do the completely insane move and continue to mock him, they're at the age where their trash talk game is the height of amusement. Charlie has momentary victory after being told he flies like a slug and demanding how he knows how slugs fly, temporarily baffling his little opponent. Yet he is saved by his brother with a quite clever broom bash against Dad. They want to prove they can outfly him, that it is very much time to give them these adult brooms they've nicked, which they are far too small for. Problem is, we've left the shed open and my lot are going airborne to compound Charlie's torture. As one of his kids has already stolen my broom, I'm reduced to bellowing at them and running around like a raptor throwing cushioning charms, trying to throw the little dodging dragons into stasis as I too am now being mocked. This is when accidental magic is a troublesome thing, when it used to block your fathers trying to keep you alive and unbroken. It's also when having a mixed dragon family is a good thing, because dragons are excellent at swooping and cushioning excited children having broom mishaps. An even better thing is having queens who are excellent fliers and come to save the day….

"What did he do now?" (Ro. Robinson)

An oft-repeated refrain when the school called, sent notes home, gave us large sighs at parent teacher interactions. It wasn't that he was doing anything specifically wrong, he wasn't disrespectful, he did his work, he just always managed to be in the thick of things. We were so relieved when it turned out he just had magic. I had no idea that meant he was just getting started with finding new ways to show he wasn't going to grasp the concept of toe-in-the-water and that I would dread when the fireplace turned green. This was always followed by a conversation with a promise he wouldn't do it again, he kept that, thing is it never stopped the adventurous kid from doing something else.

Let's start with the school stampede incident as it led to a rather ridiculous police inquiry into myself and media circus right in the middle of rugby season…..

"If you're late, you might not get cake." (Ra. Robinson)

This is a mantra in our house in regards to Tuesday tea parties at 2 pm sharp in the treehouse, but we are not there yet. It's only 9 in the morning and I am where I am every Tuesday morning, taking the little princess to the bakery to select her hostess offerings. Watching her eyes light up at the pretty baked goods in the cases that unless stopped she will press her nose against in sheer excitement. This is Daddy and Dora time, when you've got seven kids carving out a bit of time each week for one on one becomes a priority. Sometimes she invites a brother who has been nice enough to earn cohosting duties, or a cousin, but for the most part it's just us and some carbs. Tomorrow one of the boys and I will continue our trek through every muggle haunted house in the UK, to determine if there are real ghosts or poltergeists there. You want to know what's going on for each of them, the nuances of their little personalities, especially in our multiples, our twins and triplets may be inseparable from their clutch mates, but it does not mean they are alike or have the same interests. Dora doesn't have one though, she's a few years younger than the rest and often there's whining or an eye roll if Dora has to be included or they have to play with her, the exception being attending her tea parties.

Today, I get to see a croissant finally become a curious object and watch her fall in love at first bite as we, understandably, must test out what she should serve at a tiny bakery table. I also understand her questions on why Mum and I have been not been making them for breakfast, we don't know how, her thoughtful little conclusion that it is not our fault, the baker said they were French, and we are not from France. Dora can rumble with her brothers, but there's an inherent sweetness she gets from her Mum the boys simply don't have. They did not get obsessed with thank you notes and insist on carrying them for every occasion, they write them begrudgingly, Dora has a tiny purse and I sip coffee while she carefully writes it out, debating, requesting help on spelling. ("Thank you. I liked it. I cannot touch the oven. Yet.") The yet is ominous, I don't want her to grow up like her brothers have, but it's going to happen anyway. You see, yet is our youngest's favorite word, she loves to tack it onto anything she sees other more grown people doing, especially things her brothers can do, but she is still denied, usually followed by some sort of version of 'just you wait!' The baker is very moved at her little shaky lettered note as we make our selections, tells me she's going to be a heartbreaker someday. Dora queries if this is a good thing, for she has taken this as a fact, upon being told by the baker it is compliment, she settles. "Excellent. Well done, Dora."

I'm going to have my hands full, as if I don't already. I'm kindly reminded two blocks away that we have forgotten Mummy's special treat, I am not carrying the pretty box. By kindly reminded, I mean a small child shrilly screaming it directly in my ear. Dragons have the ability to develop immunity to such things, to not blink at the sheer volume level a rowdy clutch can reach, both a blessing and a curse. It's an excellent reminder, even as you Daddy one of the most important things you've got to remember is your queen and not letting that relationship fall to the wayside, she is far more than just a mother to your clutch. If you take anything away from this about tea parties, take that away.

So we turn back to continue our adventure and Dora is quite adamant that she is expecting lots of guests so we need more tiny cakes. No chocolate, she is insistent, she and one of her brothers have fought and he loves chocolate. The debate begins on whether punishing everyone for his grievance is fair and dragon management skills come into play…..

…..

Queen aside (10 years later): She outgrew tea parties, but the bakery trips remained, when she went to Hogwarts and he woke up the next morning, got ready and called up for her like usual, I had an out of sorts dragon king faced with an empty nest. I tried filling our empty, echoing house with a big, sizzling breakfast and he pouted at his pancakes. As any good mate would do I took pity on him, so he still gets his Tuesday treats year round, queen when she's at school and daughter dragon when she is on break. It's still a time for real conversation, for laughing and fretting over what they're up to at Hogwarts, discussing if we should move back into our little cottage. I shouldn't say, but the boys took the loss of the tea parties the hardest _,_ got very concerned something was wrong with Dora on their first Hogwarts break back after tea parties had been outgrown. Dora and Dad had gone to the bakery in the morning and at 2 pm they'd gone to the empty treehouse, there was no cake and they had not been late.

"The battle for the park." (B. Weasley)

I'm sitting on the park bench, glancing at the kids, writing notes for work with our travel bag ready to go before the portkey. Remus is with me, sipping his coffee and doing peer editing. Then a muggle police officer comes up, they've had a complaint about suspicious men at the playground. We're both scarred, maybe not dressed as muggle as we should be and I really don't want them to ask me to open my duffle bag, because it has a goblin axe in it. So now, it's team daddy vs muggle police and snooty park mums. They want my muggle identification, all I have is a stolen library card, Remus has none. Charlie seems to be in a confusing conversation with the muggle mums, who want to know what exactly the condition all of them have, because the kids are over there speaking dragon and gobbledygook to keep respective team secrets in their game. It's made Remus and my children nervous and they've decided to arm themselves with rocks, because they want to talk to me separately. Remus asked them to put the rocks down and go get Uncle Ralph, who has muggle identification, but is trying to get what looks like a krup out of his dragon wagon before his kids notice and want to keep it. The cop follows who they're running for and immediately radios for backup, stating there is someone armed at the park. Ralph is not armed, but he is wearing a rambo style sash and belt that to the cop looks like ammunition belts, it's filled with juice boxes and snacks. It's homemade, he read some book on productivity and deemed constantly walking back and forth to get snacks for six indecisive kids was time wasted, so he might as well just carry them. The authorities don't know this, Charlie's starting to get even more irate and George has just shown up, kid on his shoulders pulling his hair back to show the missing ear. We're not winning at the moment and it's rather quickly becoming a situation of not when, but who is going to end up arrested..….

"Just listen to the mirror." (G. Weasley) Daddy, I'm a flower girl, my hair _has_ to be fancy. In hindsight, I should have listened to the mirror telling me to stop, but we were on a creative journey. Maybe gone for help or taken her to the salon to undo my hair clipped, flower infested, glitter creation way sooner over ask my sage five year old repeatedly if it was fancy enough yet. Enter Fred, who makes it worse, before his wife comes to find him and shoves her hand to her chest and starts barking that it is completely unacceptable. Fathers, even sheepish glitter covered ones, get the job done to avoid being killed by the bride, because she will eventually find out about this, and take it with good nature when the salon person can't help their startled, horrified face. They're also not above begging strangers to fix it….

"Watching her leave." (B. Weasley)

I sent my wife and child into hiding like many men before me, but I've never discussed the toll that takes on a man. Those many moments of gut wrenching loneliness and second guessing your decision, those nights laying awake wondering if she can roll over yet. The ripping out of your heart as you realize the tea cup your wife had left in the sink and you'd kept there as a pretend shrine to her presence in your empty house, someone has washed and put up. I had a long internal debate writing this, which was harder? The loss of the teacup that signaled the last true traces of them in our house or the shaking realization the car tracks that took them to safety had been washed off by a torrential rain. There would be no more morning meditation as I jogged them, no physical reassurance they were safe as I started my day. It was neither. It was the moment I hid behind a curtain and watched a muggle woman, who thought she was a widow, tuck our baby into transport for their new, safe future that I was no part of…

"I'm not talking to you anymore." (R. Weasley)

People say Harry, Hermione and I have always had an unbreakable friendship, if you went to Hogwarts with us, you probably just snicker when you hear it. This is something I don't want for them, so the first time I heard those words said to their little mate, I decided to break the cycle. The thing is, cycles are nasty hard to break and sometimes when you interfere you probably just perpetuate it…

"Tell me about them." (H. Potter) This is a favorite question at bedtime, we're dedicated to not forgetting who we've lost. It's also one that's sometimes hard for Dad to answer, they were named after complicated people, many of whom had tragically short lives. Yet, I looked forward to it each night, to our little ritual of talking and growing the story of what happens next as they mature. Then they grow up and reality sets in of the names they now think you've burdened them with…

"It's complicated." (D. Malfoy)

I say this probably once a day, Harry's all over the news, we're in it and the questions are never ending. The thing is, giving them non answers doesn't tell them anything, but it also doesn't teach them anything. So I say 'It's complicated' and lead in to try and explain what was a very trying time in a complex situation. Today, I was so caught off guard I burned myself on my tea….

"When Daddy is the one afraid of clowns." (F. Weasley)

We're going to the circus today and I've got a calming draught in my pocket, because we must see the clowns. One wants to go to clown school, so we're a bit at odds on career counseling at the moment. You can be funny without paint on your face, I try and tell them, we'll just watch the elephants. I get a returning look that tells me they think I'm mental. Somebody is going to have to hold my hand today…

* * *

 _Mummy Like A Dragon_ (G. Robinson, E. Robinson, M. Weasley)

"Nighttime soothing." (G. Robinson)

When I became a mother I expected my nights would often be interrupted, someone needs a glass of water or a cuddle, I did not expect my husband to be a part of this bunch. That he too would lie awake and need soft hands and open ears, not because he is scared of the dark, but worried for our clutch. You see, we've always called them our little dragons, but they aren't, not really in the way he is or I am tied into the species, yet they aren't truly separate either. They are just little ones who've learned crooning and roaring because even now, it still sometimes slips out if my king is too tired or excited. When we had six under the age of four those crooned dragon lullabies that without fail always put them back to sleep were the only thing that kept us sane. If you ask them, they will tell you they speak dragon, they do, our form of it, they will tell you they will grow up and work on the reserves. This is what keeps my dragon king awake, not that they'll hop about dodging fire, but the stark reality that some of them can't. You've got to have certain brain waves and not all of them have it, he frets because they will be upset and thinks it's all his fault for crooning at them as babies.

So I soothe, it's years away, they will find another passion by then, the dragons will still talk to them as best they can, they've learned their croons. He's latched onto the passion thing and since he's a doer, you've probably seen us schlepping our clutch about to every type of class known to muggle and wizards alike. There's a muggle thing called Mommy and Me, but I was pregnant and not feeling well, so into the car they went with Daddy to let me rest. We're not welcome there anymore, the boys say it is because there was no smock big enough to fit Daddy. He's dubious on what exactly he and Charlie said to get us banned, ('I was very polite, just wanted to know why you get to make ugly pottery with them and I can't.') On the flip side, it did start the now popular Dragon and Me classes. They're no cost and anyone of any age is welcome, sometimes we do well, sometimes we're probably just entertainment value, but we have fun and we try. I still soothe, sometimes scold him over those, or just laugh at our attempts and resulting chaos. He's intense to the point he's trying to teach our clutch things he himself is terrible at, like Herbology. There are currently tripping shrubs, which he misidentified as snuggle shrubs, sneaking around our garden causing a lot of bruised knees. Mainly his and our little clutch members unfortunate enough to inherit whatever trait that makes all magical plants hate them. There's a lot of 'well, maybe let me do that with them' happening in our house at the moment in regards to planting season, for the benefit of my sanity and our apprehensive garden's sake. Yet, our doomed potential Herbologists are sitting over there talking about Teary Tulips and he's enthusiastically encouraging them the apple tree had not purposefully hurled a slightly rotten fruit their way. Cheering the bruised little guy it had been aimed at Daddy for pruning it, the tree just had terrible aim. Dragon King will likely shortly figure out how accurate the tree is.

Mummy has put her foot down, I know what is best for our clutch and right now, what's best is for him to just settle down, to let things be. That's a lot easier said than done, but I am the giver of snacks and snuggles, of open ears that hear the little confessions of who hates what. There's a reason in the game of Hearts the queen reigns supreme as I like to remind my card loving king from time to time. So for the sake of my babies, their well intentioned Daddy is being put in class taking time out. Not forever, just until I can rewrite his brain into being less anxious about where they'll be in ten years and fully focused on where they are now.

(King aside: Only sort of worked, they missed them, but as they got older their interests differed and we tailored it for each kid. The queen has little hands that are excellent at whittling.)

"Kidnapping." (M. Weasley)

I am a seventh born of a seventh born, as is my daughter. While it isn't widely known, we are registered on a global level, it's an attempt to sort out if we are indeed magically different and try and banish all of the old wives tales about it. There's a lot of those, supposedly if there are less than seven of us in the world at once magic will cease to exist, because we are the Pillars through which magic settles. Supposedly we cannot have squibs, we create ley lines at birth, our births and coming of age foretell major events. Most of it is poppycock and coincidence, we're about as storied up as banshees, but I promise you we're just normal and if we're not, we can't exactly help it. When they came to register my seventh born of a seventh born, first girl in seven generations and check to see if she'd changed the magical signature of the Burrow is when we first heard the prophecy. Charlie is oracular to a degree and was sitting next to her bassinet, bopping her nose with a flower to get her to give little giggles when he started screaming at the poor Ministry representative.

 _Darkness takes her before her first blood._ _He comes unexpectedly-_

That was all we had, worked ourselves up into the idea we were faced with an imminent kidnapping, because baby was too little to have gotten mobile and given herself a bruise yet. It was only the beginning of the protective oversight our little girl had, something I look back and wonder on. Was it my fault she wrote in the diary? Did we shelter her too much? So curious about the outside world, because she'd never gotten to experience it the way her brothers had. Both of Ginny's hands were always held in public when we finally thought it was safe enough to take her out. For years, if errands needed running I'd take some of the boys, but Ginny would always be sent to my Aunt Muriel's with a few others. She saw her cousins and played, but only ever with family. My husband put his foot down after our eldest son snuck her and Ron out for a treat and Ginny freaked out at age four, never having seen another little girl before and didn't think she was real. Bill said she chased her about trying to figure out if she was real, he'd chased Ginny, trying to stop her quest and everyone had ended up covered in ice cream. She had been kidnapped, not that time….

….

"The Sneak Rope." (M. Weasley)

My eldest two were very social, very curious and at a certain age decided bedtime rules did not apply to them. They snuck out and traitorously passed their secret ways down to their younger siblings. We tried warding the house, charming the doors and downstairs windows to not let them out between certain hours, the thing is, we never bothered with the bathroom. It was on the third story and in the always slightly loose window frame was hidden a rope with a brick on it for them to escape to do whatever it was they were off doing. This rope and I have had an interesting relationship over the years…

…..

'The Accident." (E. Robinson)

It should have been a happy day, we were waiting to get them for Christmas break from boarding school. Excited to hear about their term over dinner at their grandparents house, joking lightly about how big they'll have gotten and how they'll whine if they have to go clothes shopping. Except the bus didn't come and didn't come. My husband frowned at his watch repeatedly and used a payphone to call his Mum to tell her we'd be late. She was frantic, there had been accident involving a school bus, were the boys ok?

Most of the next few hours are a blur, Roger was trying to see if she could find out what hospital the kids would have been taken to, bellowing at some other waiting parent to go find another phone and call the school. It was their bus, a truck had run a light and smashed into it. We all needed to go to the hospital, rushing, piling into cars for those to shaky to drive. I recall standing there in the hospital room, having a massive stress induced breakdown and arguing with my husband over whether we should let Ralph see his brother like this, just begging my husband to make it better.

My eldest was comatose, covered in plaster, bruises darkening, with all sorts of tubes going in and out of him. He'd been leaning over the seat to tell Ralph to keep his mouth shut about the trouble he'd gotten into when it happened and been flung about the bus extra as a result. I'm arguing no, we can't, he's too little and they're so close, he shouldn't see his brother like this. My husband is much calmer, thinks that's exactly the reason he has to be let in, because is this any worse than seeing him in the immediate aftermath of the accident? I'm worried sick something weird will happen, we didn't know it was magic yet, just that sometimes when things were intense stuff happened we could in no way explain.

There was little gasp. Ralph was standing in the doorway, little black eye, stitches on his face arm in a sling. He's clearly escaped the group and teacher he was supposed to stay with until his grandparents got there. Time had stopped, the only thing moving in the world were the tears running down my face and the ones welling in his eyes as he stared wide eyed at the hospital bed with his favorite person in the world in it.

That's when Mum turns into a dragon, drawing on the mix of strength and softness to get her clutch through it all. It's also when Mummy realizes they are going to get her through it too. I stopped crying immediately, my little dragon hasn't said a word or moved from the doorway and the first thing he does is dig out his little handkerchief and give it to me. I don't know if he remembers that moment, it's not really a time we dwell on as a family. I've never given it back to him, that grubby little initialed thing my baby passed me was clutched often in the many hours over far too many days spent in that hospital room. Dug out and clutched again sitting in the hospital wing at Hogwarts, sitting next to him, again wondering if my child would ever wake up. …..

* * *

Seve _n Hours: Across the Sky_ (G. Robinson, R. Robinson, M. McGonagall) Desperate times call for desperate measures and help comes from unexpected places. The true story behind the Battle of the Channel.

Excerpt: If you'd told me I'd willingly let someone put horrible muggle things on my eyeballs, I'd have laughed in your face. Yet, that is where it all starts, 5 am, bathroom of the Lupin's flat with me sitting on the counter trying not to flinch crazily away from Tonks. I flinched anyway and she ended up putting me in a body bind, turns out it took all of 30 seconds, but I'd been so evasive we'd wasted quite a bit of time and I was going to miss my flight. I could not miss my flight or all of the muggle makeover, lying to Mum, was going to be in vain. We needed the pensive, my best friend desperately needed that pensive and Tonks needed a cinnamon bagel, her very favorite and the first to sell out at the little shop down the street.

….

I'm trying to get into contact with them, dragon queen Helena is trying, but Angus is for all intents and purposes, out of ambit. We know he's still flying, but he can't be synced with, either he's too synced into another conversation or someone has hijacked and confounded the dragon we are in pursuit of. The queen and I believe it has to be the second, she's entering heat, there is no possible reason an unmated male dragon who has been one of her suitors would be ignoring her. He'd fought another dragon earlier in the day and won, to prove he would be the best egg maker, yet he was ignoring her calls. Ginny is on that dragon, likely being held against her will for some ransom against Harry or the Order. We know we have a spy for the other side on the Reserve and the guy who took her for a ride isn't low on the list of suspects. Going wild with speculation when you're riding a queen dragon who's pretty ticked at being ignored is not advisable, she'll speculate worse. We were going to catch them, so she could kill him, his riders, go find the female dragon he had decided to mate with instead of her, kill her too, and then I would find her a mate worthy of her. I started summoning loose objects for her to flame, to calm us both down, something later we'd find quite helpful.

It changed instantly, a scream breaking our quiet ride across the sky, "Mudblood should have stayed home."

There is no feasible reason I survived the intermittent attacks, constantly outnumbered even with a dragon, but there was a very important girl ahead of me and I sure as hell wasn't going to let them catch up to her. I was going to catch up to her, rescue her from her captor, see her pretty smile, get her to her family and go back to the reserve and think about her constantly, same as I'd done at Easter. Get her safe and run for the hills, because she was breaking the no interference policy I had for my heart knowing I'd very likely be dead within four months. That's not how it went at all.

It's unclear if the craziness that erupted was already inherent in me or due to the fact I'd always thought I would go out young, probably by a pissed off dragon, but never had been faced with the freedom that understanding gave me. When you've got nothing to lose and are hell bent on protecting someone who does, you're willing to go big on the insane scale. Whatever it was, I don't think an air battle has been seen like that before or since. Everyone asks how many it was over the course the long flight and truthfully, I don't know. Helena can remember seventeen different faces, but we both lack a count when it comes to the masked riders, having been a bit busy at the time staying alive. The unmasked had the blank look of a bad Imperious curse, I was trying to just get them away in the chaos, repeatedly telling my very excited dragon to just smack 'em away with her tail or roar very intensely at them, which for the most part is enough to scare the bravest of heart. Later, I'd learn Ginny is up there giving a kill list to Angus, while I'm back here riding a scorned queen who very badly wants to take out her fury on the little broom people. She does not, because we must save all of our fury for when we catch the green dragon, we increase our speed and it's up in the air whether she's going to kill him or mate with him. What is not up in the air is that we are in serious trouble and the dragon ahead of us likely is too.

….

The person least mentioned in relation to the Battle of the Channel is the one who sent me there and it became a turning point in my view of Headmaster Snape. It was not a trap for me to be taken into Death Eater custody as my rapid check in while flying, Molly urging me to go back to the school because Ginny was just spending the day with Tonks. Yet why had he done it? Why had he truly come and told me, and was it really the first time he'd sought to protect our students? We'd later find it out it was far from the first time, but it was the first direct request for Order intervention. Miss Weasley, Mr. Robinson and I were not the only Order members in the sky that night, but as Rubeus Hagrid is a very humble man his small skirmish has rarely been mentioned. Hagrid saw one of his thestrals break off from the herd and found my broom, became concerned there was an attack coming set about patrolling on his motorbike, both by land and air.

* * *

 _Hogwarts, A History_ (B. Bagshot, H. Weasley)

 _Hogwarts, A History of Pranks_ (R. Lupin, F. Weasley, G. Weasley) Two wars, two sets of infamous pranksters and the brilliance behind some of their greatest magical explorations.

Excerpt: "I remember asking Sirius and James, 'Just why do you two have so much sherbet?' They shared a glance between themselves and with the massive amount of sherbet between their beds. Sirius threw himself onto my four poster, deciding that I too, could be a part of their little club of two plus rainbow sherbet. My life got very interesting from that point onwards."

* * *

 _Lycanthropic Musings_ (R. Lupin, B. Weasley, C. Weasley) How the other woman, the white lady in the sky, has pull over your life and that of those willing to share it with you.

Excerpt: "It was the first full moon with her when the mate theory that had been ricocheting around my head cemented. We weren't dating, I was taking wolfsbane at an Order safehouse to not bother anyone and there she was, barreling in the door as if she's late, holding movies and snacks a strange variety of things she liked and she'd decided werewolves would like, not daunted in the slightest. She had decided she was curious, I needed more company than Sirius and we might need protecting, werewolves, for the record do not need protecting. I was horrified, she was the last person I wanted to see me in such a state, and she's stubbornly out there refusing to leave. Asking Sirius if I like being petted once I transform, because she just loves her hair played with, most soothing thing in the world and dumping bags out to show her snack offerings. We didn't really know each other, but she'd read things and desperately wanted to ensure my transformation was as easy and fun as it could be.

I rarely speak of my wife, of those early strained trials where I fought my own nature, couching it in excuses of my condition, our age difference, my poverty, the very likely fact I would die for the Order as all of my friends had before me. Yet there we all were, myself transformed, Sirius in Animangus form, her snacking and occasionally popping into her own animangus form to see if we were communicating anything interesting. We weren't, just playing Padfoot's version of karaoke where he tries to sing as a dog and I'm supposed to try and figure out whatever it song it was. She very much wanted to play too. Twenty three moons, eleven married, that's all we had together and it will never be close to enough.

* * *

 _Turn cloak: The Severus Snape Story_ (R. Lupin, M. McGonagall, H. Potter) Where did his loyalties really lay? What were his motivations? What was truth and what was a lie? They've called him a traitor, Dumbledore's man, the biography of someone everyone agreed was complicated.

 _Lucidity_ (F. Weasley, G. Weasley, N. Longbottom) There is a potion that can bring even your most lost in their minds loved ones back again. Use at your own risk.

* * *

 _Through the Glass: from Muggle to Magical_ (H. Weasley, H. Potter, Ra. Robinson, D. Thomas, muggle contributors D. Dursley, Ry. Robinson)

The understanding of a most bewildering transition. The lady was prompt in her appointment and very professional, the phone calls had been ignored and the letters came barreling in, adjusting your boarding school tie as you sat across from a delusional stranger, your mother sitting there thoughtfully and glancing at you with encouraging smiles. Then there was Diagon Alley and suddenly, it wasn't just a dream you were going to wake up from and you're going to get very attached to that one stick of wood you managed not to destroy the shop with. The book is broken into three parts focused on the initial understanding, pre school transition, ongoing support and merging both the magical and muggle of your family.

Two excerpts from the chapter on the Picking of Wands

"I wonder." (H. Potter)

I've thought back on those words, on that moment so many times in the intervening years. You see, wands pick wizards off of inherent traits, traits that will affect the direction of their lives in very poignant fashions. In my view it is more than an art or a craft, it is a form of Divination. It is no secret that Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort have both had tremendous influences on my life, it is not as well known that Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, has too, saving me in the Chamber of Secrets. My wand held a core from Fawkes' tail, Lord Voldemort's held the other, twin cores, meaning they cannot battle each other. It's a phenomenon most seen with actual twins or siblings, so the fighting issue doesn't come up very often and wands with cores from the same donor are usually tested immediately. Yes it wasn't just Fawkes that bound the three of us, it was the Elder wand, one that would drive both Tom Riddle and I on long hunts for it to the end of the Second War.

I was a curious case, famous and very new to this fact and Mr. Ollivander didn't treat me as such, I was just another child looking for their first wand. I was not the adult I'd later be on return visits, watching others ask him to help them find a more specialized wand for charm work, or a more powerful one, I was just eleven, a bit confused at the whole stick thing, wondering if broomsticks too were a muggle imagination turned reality. I read a lot as a child, shy and awkward, not having many friends it was natural. There were books that had wizards and witches as heroes, that I was most definitely banned from reading, but did at school, sometimes there were wands, often there were staffs, sometimes there was no physical conduit…

"When No Wand Wants You." (R. Robinson)

I was wand shopping with my Mum, Charlie and his Mum, he went first, being very knowledgable about all things magic and extremely excited, having waited his entire life for this exact moment. It was quick, painless, three wands in, he was set, his mother was snapping photos for his Aunt Muriel who was generously buying him his very own wand to put in the case she'd gotten him. It was not quick for me, not painless, it was massive destruction and a constant stream of apologizing from both my mother and I. If you've never met Mr. Ollivander, nothing phases him, he just makes little thoughtful noises and waves his wand to undo whatever you've set off. There was fire, there was the sudden appearance of bags of rubbish, a very aggressive hedgehog, shelves flinging about, my mother's vanity table popping up to her utter mortification.

I am one of the few who left Ollivander's shop without a wand of my own that first visit. Who had to sit and drink tea, discussing with him everything about my life, which he plopped onto a handy questionnaire, waiting for his wife to come read my tea leaves. Charlie sat with me, saying at random that' it didn't mean I didn't have magic' to cover the fact he was taking more and more candy. He used words like wand lore, which Mrs. Weasley would nod at and pat my hand, my mother answered questions about what I'd been like in the womb, if any strange things had happened around her while pregnant. It turns out they had, she had been filming on a remote location when her car broke down in the forest going home and she kept seeing this specific horse, she loves horses, so she went to it and shared her purse apple. She rode this horse out of the forest and then couldn't find it, she wanted to thank its owners or try and adopt it. Looking back we now know it either was my patronus going corpeal with those extra baby magic power bursts, or my patronus is based on a chill apple loving Clydesdale who'd been hanging out in a forest and decided to help the lady carrying a foal just bashing about.

Wands are a tricky thing, you see I was not born in the UK, nor fully raised here and as I was a very outdoorsy child needed a wand made from a wood closer to my heart. I liked that, the phrasing, the little questionnaire, the way he looked very thoughtful and offered to arrange to have several wands from Australia sent for testing or to help set up a portkey to go to his colleague's eminently excellent shop. As you transition into the wizarding world you'll find almost everyone is incredibly nice and willing to go out of their way to be helpful, they know you're a bit overwhelmed and confused.

Ultimately, it was decided that he had not seen his friend in many a year, there was much to discuss between the two on recent lore discoveries and he was going to take us himself as there was no overlap in business hours. The second experience was quite different, the wands were not tested in the same way at all as the little shop in Diagon Alley….

* * *

 _A History of Magical Equality_ (R. Lupin, B. Weasley, H. Weasley)

An in depth examination of inter-species relationships, the history of wand usage and the impact it has on us today.

Excerpt: "Introduction: Werewolves have traditionally been viewed as unable to integrate or contribute to society, a view magnified and perpetuated by Fenrir Greyback's vicious campaign to build an army by biting children. I was five when I was bitten, I'd been scouting out the best flowers to pick for my Mum's birthday trying to find the most purple ones in the garden. To this day, I truly think he meant to kill me, had not expected my father's rapid response and that thought, I conjecture changed the underlying connotations of my new reality of a werewolf for both myself, my parents and ultimately Hogwarts. I had survived when I should not have, my parents were adamant that I too should get to go to Hogwarts, because while one night a month I was a werewolf I was first and foremost a wizard. I am not sure who started the conversation, my parents or Albus, but I'm imminently grateful to whoever did, not just for me, but for the children after me."

* * *

 _Secret Societies_ (M. McGonagall, R. Lupin, S. Snape, H. Weasley)

By the time you realize what you've truly signed up for, it's too late to ever get out. The Order of the Phoenix, the Marauders, Death Eaters and Dumbledore's Army.

Excerpt: "It took a time to formalize, at first it was merely whispers and theoretical discussions on the disappearances, asking the portraits to be a bit more mobile. The Order of the Phoenix was first thought of in the Hog's Head Pub, just as later Dumbledore's Army would be. Except it was a conversation between two extremely different brothers, who'd never had an easy relationship, but shared the view the growing violence had to stop, for it was far too similar to Grindelwald's rise. I never asked and refuse to speculate on any theories, but their recruiting efforts led to quite the spy network. Let's start there, who they recruited and why. For we were not a pristine group made up of only excellent track records, we were probably not a group anyone but Albus would have ever trusted to fight those that could not be allowed to win."

* * *

A/N: Always love reviews and feedback! Or if you'd like a request.


	41. requests 2

A/N: Hi lovely readers, still allowed to be up :) Still doing requests, loves, gives me a bit of a mind clear from the rest of it. We're also discussing a way to do a preview of the book online, so I'll let anyone who's interested know.

* * *

Request: A bit of Parvati and Hermione's friendship please, I go back and just reread the students listening at Hogwarts.

A/N: For reference ch. 12, last paragraph. I think it's the most reviewed portion of this story so I'm glad I never revised it and it touched people! This is pensive review with Harry and Bill.

* * *

Hermione glanced at the vial it only had a date on it, spring of her 6th year. It had no name, like all of the others that had come from Hogwarts, from what they'd been told there had been surprisingly little fuss getting memories. Professor Flitwick's lesson plan the day after the Order meeting was for O.W.L through N.E.W.T. years was conveniently on memory removal charms with vials for collection in class and given for practice. He was happy to overlook any memories for young spell casters who wanted a review and assured all of his students of his complete discretion. As nobody would want a teacher to know their experiences, especially if they drew forth a memory not for him on accident, he informed his classes Professor McGonagal would be demonstrating the Oblivation charm on him for each class.

"Right under Snape's nose." Harry was quite pleased at the thought.

Hermione didn't quite think that was the case and Bill point blank disagreed with him. "It was on my N.E.W.T for Charms, he can't exclude subjects likely to be seen on their exams."

"Umbridge did." Harry responded, "Wouldn't even let us use our wands."

"Yet you learned the theory for tests. Look, I know Severus has tormented you extra, but he did tell Minerva about Ginny needing help. I don't know what to think of it, but at least for today I can be grateful that Ginny's safe and Hermione is healing."

Harry did not look in the mood to be lectured at over what was perceived as a pointless personal hatred by anyone who had not schooled with them at Hogwarts. Hermione hastily dumped the memory in and bent over the pensive, reaching automatically for Bill's hand to find him already wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close.

Parvati's braid was swaying as she walked up the stairs with the sashay designed to make it swing. She paused before their room and heard a sob, a peek showed Hermione with burning letter bits floating over her as she tried not to cry. Parvati retreated and headed back down the stairs, up the others towards the boys' dorm.

As she walked Bill asked in concern, "What were you upset about, love?"

Hermione felt sheepish, felt blood rushing in her cheeks. "You. Realizing you'd known about my crush was well…not great."

Humiliating, angering, heart breaking all applied, but were not words she wanted to utter and was saved from further embarrassing explanation by Parvati pausing again at the door, Seamus voice drifting through. "So we want the lion to roar and the score to be flame when we get a point? What about if we lose points?"

She didn't bother to call out, taking a peek and went in. It was at the edge of tower curfew and they were all in there, four of them looking curiously at her from the quidditch banner they were working on. Only Harry still wearing a half burned shirt and Parvati giggled slightly nervously. "Is Lavender here?"

"Yes. Just studying!" It came through shrilly from closed curtains from Ron's bed and the rest of the boys looked rather startled, clearly caught unawares that she was in there.

Shell Cottage Harry started laughing, "Look right. Godric, I forgot he did that."

Seamus was attempting to pull a pillowcase on as a shirt in panic and proceeded to promptly bash into a bed poster. Parvati hadn't seen, "Can you come to the dorm with me? Hermione's upset."

The curtain ripped open and both Lavender and Ron were blushing, Harry asking in concern. "What's wrong? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Parvati shook her head, Dean asking quieter, unbothered by his lack of shirt. "Terry was a git to her in Runes over being friends with you, mate. Didn't want her to share a table with him."

Parvati's face clearly enjoyed the gossip and had some to share, but Lavender was giving her a look of understanding. "Again? Are you sure, well, that I'd be any help?"

"Oi, sure. As a verbal punching bag." Seamus offered, "She was in a right state with me in Transfiguration and I was doing the spell perfectly fine."

"That's debatable, Seamus." Parvati offered, "Your bunny vanished, but kept hopping about on her things. Lav, the chocolate is in your trunk."

Harry looked quite angry, "People get mad at her for being my friend? That's ridiculous. They should just hate me."

Looks were shared all around the room in incredulous exasperation. Neville offering, "It's not the worst, Harry. Nobody even counts Slytherin insults or anything."

"It's still not alright. It's not fair, I can't believe Terry is such an idiot." Harry looked furious.

Ron helped Lavender up, "Believe it. Harry, you've been a complete git to Cho over bringing her rat friend to DA meetings. We all take a hammering for sticking by your side. I'll walk you down, Lav."

Parvati and Dean shared a look of disgust.

Hermione felt a lot of conflicting emotions, watching it and said something else. "She'd been really keen on him since third year."

They followed Parvati, Lavender and Ron down the stairs. Ron's voice concerned, admiring. "You're such a wonderful friend, Lav. Before, when she'd get upset-"

"Before?" Lavender's voice was possessive.

Ron said the right obedient things, everything else about him clearly annoyed. "Before you. Knitting the house elf hats seemed to calm her down." A glance back at Parvati, "Do you think Padma would leave some in Ravenclaw tower for her?"

Parvati rolled her eyes, "Padma isn't ridiculous, but Luna Lovegood will I'm sure. Thanks Ron."

The memory ended with Parvati slipping past them into the common room.

…

Hermione was trying to process it, clarify. "Ron and I weren't speaking, were we?"

"You were civil." Harry offered carefully. "I forgot you hung out with Parvati whenever we weren't talking to you."

Hermione nodded, they hadn't been best friends by any means, but Parvati was nice and friendly, especially if she wasn't with Lavender caught in giggle fits. "We spent a lot of time avoiding Ron and Lavender. She thought how public they were was as disgusting as everyone else."

A smile, there had been good times in her dormitory even with all the different personalities. "When Lavender was fantasizing about baby names I gave several wretched suggestions and Parvati gave innocent enough sounding floral ones that were all poisonous."

"Why am I not surprised, love?" Bill kissed her hair and she could feel his disquiet over her previous distress over him down into her marrow, "You're chilled."

"We'll take a break and have some hot chocolate after the next one." She squeezed his waist, pecked up for a kiss and reached for the next vial. The exquisite calligraphic handwriting was familiar as Hermione had often envied it and startling to see.

She showed it to Harry, who gave her a blank look. "Daphne. Daphne Greengrass." A glance at Bill's ocean eyes, "She's a Slytherin in our year, but, well is above all of their nonsense. She doesn't really talk to anyone."

"Was she mute? Frail thing?" Bill asked, eyes crinkling in thought. "The Greengrass line suffered a daughter's curse like the Weasley line did. Part of why the Marriage Law failed so spectacularly, everyone lost their heads and started throwing generational curses at each other." A pause, "They all thought Aunt Muriel had the swan curse on her, but she married earlier than her sisters."

"Swan curse?" Harry asked in confusion.

Hermione could not believe he didn't remember, couldn't bring to mind her years of torment over the same insult. "Brains or beauty. Brilliant, hideous, unlovable or singularly defined by your attractiveness level."

"Like Ginny." Harry gave a vaguely sage nod and to prevent herself from whacking him over his obtusity, poured the vial in.

* * *

A/N: By request over Ginny's accidental time travel where she met Tom Riddle and how it affects Ginny and Ralph later on. This is *very* loosely based on crow's own air siren to sheltering in a cellar experience with strangers.

Ginny smiled at Sirius, laughing at his imitation of the painting of his mother. Harry was next to her, "What about your dad? I mean he married her and all."

"Name was Orion and he was a jackass." Sirius said and shook his head, at seeing their startled looks amended while Remus shrugged. "Ok, maybe not a jackass. It was an arranged marriage, but he was definitely part of the reason I ran away from home. He wasn't awful before I ended up in Gryffindor and brought massive amounts of familial shame down on the noble house of Black." Sirius shook his head, "He was on the Board of Directors at Hogwarts and he tried to get me resorted properly, but Dumbledore wasn't having any of that. Nor was the very offended Sorting Hat."

"Didn't know a hat could be offended." Ron looked up, "Should we write him thank you notes, you think?"

"They have feelings too. It talked to me once in Dumbledore's office, but erm, I don't know if he's got eyes to read." Harry offered up, slightly muffled as he was sipping his hot chocolate.

Ginny got up to get herself some more as Sirius went on, "Just tuck him on your head, boys and have a chat. Your dad used to do it whenever he found himself in Dumbledore's office, Harry. My dad ran in the darker crowd, not the darkest mind you. He was at school the same time as Lord Voldemort. Few years younger, but I think the guy scared the dickens out of him under his birth name. Not many people know his real name, but my dad knew."

He paused and Harry's voice was eager, "How?"

Sirius was thoughtful, as if looking back on his family and their interactions. "He didn't want Regulus to be a Death Eater any more than he wanted me to be in Gryffindor. Told us this awful story about showing back up to school after winter hols and getting crucioed by him again and again over hexing some girl that was Lord Voldemort's. He was crucioed on and off over it until Lord Voldemort graduated and told Regulus he probably would be too if he went for a hood."

"How awful." Ginny turned back as several things happened at once. Warbulga started screaming, the twins apparated with twin cracks scaring Buckbeak who came at her at a charge. Startled and terrified she tried to twist out of the way as Harry started screaming at Buckbeak.

She twisted alright.

Completely confused she stared at the young man about her age who'd just dropped a teacup and pulled a wand. He looked exactly like the man she'd just been speaking with, but younger. Startled, she queried. "Sirius?"

He threw a hex at her and she dodged, feeling the slight burn on her arm. He started throwing more and she realized this was definitely not Sirius. She threw a shield charm and tried to get out of the room, running with him in pursuit throwing hex after hex. "Stop that! What's wrong with you?"

He, it appeared had no plans of stopping. She dropped her shield for a moment and threw a bat-bogey, catching him directly in the face. He then started screaming his hexes getting louder as she ran down the front hallway, seeing a woman coming down the stairs and dodged her thrown hex as well, the vase she'd just passed exploding behind her. Out the door and down the street. She paused four blocks down to ease the stitch from the sprint, catch her breath and make sure she'd lost them, wand drawn plain as day for anyone to see. Godric, he'd hit her in the face with one of those blinding charms so popular in dueling, just enough that it made your vision go to where you could see a bit, but as if you had woken up and not put on your glasses. It was a wonder she hadn't fallen off the curb. Her arm hurt like hell, she ran fingers over the blood, trying gauge how deep it was. Busy trying to catch her breath and bent over from her stitch, blurry eyed she didn't notice a boy stop walking and stare at her, eyeing the thin piece of wood in her hand.

Horrible loud noises ripped the air, blaring on repeat and she straightened looking around, hair flinging into her face. What was going on? Then she was grabbed, bodily shoved in front of someone back into a run, "There's a cellar over here."

She stumbled, unable to see the curb, and was grabbed by the arm, dragged, yanked through some sort of door. He did something with it, "Get down the stairs. Raids force you to panic?"

"I can't see anything." She muttered, fairly certain if she attempted stairs she would go tumbling down them.

He cursed lightly and moved her towards them. She hit the wall and stumbled, so he picked her up, taking her down, sounding very aggravated. "Of course. She's blind."

"Not normally, I'm not." She said hotly. "What's going on?"

"Not a Londoner?" He queried, setting her down and she could feel her vision starting to come back as the charm wore off. Then everything shook and went black.

"No. What's going on?" She clutched at this stranger automatically to steady herself in this shaking darkness.

"We're being bombed again by the Axis powers." He said it matter of factly, dragging her stumbling over to sink onto what felt like a bench, he seemed to know his way around this place in the dark. "Always manage to get stuck here during them. We should be safe enough unless we take a direct hit."

He seemed to be trying to reassure himself more than her and she sat, "Excellent. Those are no dung bombs." Then she realized she was probably talking to a muggle, paused, "I'm sorry, I'm very confused. I've no real clue what this talk about Axises is. Was terrible at that part of maths."

His voice was smug, knowing, slightly derisive. "Pureblood?"

"Thank Merlin! You're a wizard!" She exclaimed it wildly, someone from her world, not stuck with a muggle with huge siren sounds happening.

"Of course I am." He sounded almost bored, as if this should have been completely obvious. "If I hadn't seen your wand, would have left you standing there like a startled lamp post." More derision, "That the corner you work?"

She whacked her previous savior in sheer outrage, "I am not one of the lost girls. Why would you ever-"

"Hair down like that with no hat? Dressed the way you are. Not at Hogwarts? Only obvious conclusion." His voice darkened, "Never hit me again."

"Well sorry, and why would I even be wearing a hat? There's nothing wrong with my dress." She paused and a thought formed, not a nice thought, but a thought all the same bubbled up at the too young face of Sirius. "What year is it?"

"Did you bruise your head? It's 1943."

"Bloody hell. I pulled a -." She shoved her face into her hands, cutting off the name. She'd pulled a Charlie, pulled a Prewett, she'd bobbled and badly, directly into just as much danger as she was trying to avoid.

There was a very long pause, then he shifted closer at another boom. "Care to clarify?"

It was still sinking in, that she had done what Charlie had several times, had accidentally apparated herself back in time. Had so badly wanted to avoid Buckbeak and not thought clearly about what she was doing and instead of splinching herself had tossed herself to the exact same spot back in time to Orion Black. Her voice was heavy, even as the training she'd had to take was kicking in. As an accidental apparater as a child, she'd had to take the class early for those with time unstable bloodlines. Taken it with Charlie after his first successful apparition landed him in McGonagall's training hoop a few years from her current conundrum, as he had just been talking to her and did not focus properly. Most people had to focus very hard only on where they wanted to go, but those with cursed Prewett blood needed to focus on when too. There was a formal phrase she was supposed to use, something that would trigger the Ministry knowing, but she couldn't recall it. "I need to get to the Ministry."

She tried to twist and nothing happened, panic rising as she patted for her wand. Trying to pat him down and got her wrists held painfully tight, voice incredibly harsh. "There's no light to find it. Using magic will put a target on us. Difference is no longer tolerated, it's being eliminated country by country."

"I'll take you with me then. Give me your wand." She demanded it.

"Absolutely not. When the sirens blare anti-apparition charms go up all over London. A pointless waste of magical blood to protect the muggles nearby." He did not sound pleased at it, rather furious.

A flicker of something, she'd either learned in Muggle Studies or from her father. "Warlock Perkins consulted Professor Dumbledore on drafting the law, I think. Contentious passage in 1915."

"Yes." He said it strangely and Ginny could feel him studying her intensely, his earlier combative rudeness changing into curiosity as he released her wrists. "You didn't struggle, why?"

She rubbed her wrists, hoping she sounded very confident. "I can take care of myself. I don't fight panicked and you haven't given me any reason to think you'll hurt me. Is it Grindelwald doing this?"

A pause, that made it sound like she had no idea what was going on and she wasn't supposed to let anyone know but the Ministry. She tried for evasive at his scrutiny and flung into him at the sound of explosion that seemed so close, "I've heard strange rumors."

"No, it's just the muggle war." He didn't push her off, wrapping a weighted arm around her shoulder instead, probably so she would just stop flailing about. He didn't sound particularly concerned or displeased by this, just very factual. "They'll be a lot less of them. Men being drafted all over."

"What are all of the noises?" Ginny asked as that horrible bone shaking, unable to not be heard wailing came again.

"That's the siren to get to a bomb shelter. We're not in a proper one, none close enough and I don't take chances with my life. Or yours it seems." He paused, "I'm not particularly fond of them, they get very crowded and there are frequently several people crying hysterically."

"Don't think I'd like that either. Girl with the bed next to mine at school cries over everything, want to smack her half the bloody time. Gets worked up before tests." She agreed and jerked again.

He steadied her, "Stop your hysterics. The rest you're hearing is explosions. They go for factories and supplies mainly, but there's a few plants and a ration storage near here. Probably this area's turn for a sweep."

Well if it was just explosions, that was okay. That Ginny could handle, that happened a lot growing up with the twins. Well with growing up at the Burrow mainly. A series went off rapidly, very close and she was fine this time, just putting up a hand to cover her ear.

"Tell me about the future." It was a demand and she flinched, he'd caught on anyway. Too many questions.

"Can't, sorry." She truly was apologetic, she'd made that mistake once with a diary and almost gotten Harry and herself killed.

"I saved your life." He stated equally as demanding, as if this should be a favor returned. She paused, she didn't really know if he had, maybe a bomb wouldn't have hit her.

"It's against the rules. If I tell you and things change I go to Azkaban. Actually, think I might get sent even just for telling and I'm no fan of the dementors, hated them when they were at Hogwarts." Well there you go Ginny, saying things you shouldn't immediately after saying you couldn't say anything.

He was quiet, seething, before trying to lure more information out. "Dementors at Hogwarts?"

"Fleetingly." That wasn't exactly a lie. "I wonder what's under their hood?"

"You don't want to know." He didn't seem disturbed by it, "Only people who could truly tell you are gone, I suspect."

"Mum used to say they were Death's minions, you know from the Tale of Three Brothers? I disagree though, they don't kill you, they just make everything horrible." Ginny offered in conversational tones, she really didn't want to be stuck in here with someone in a sulk.

"There are many ways to end a life." He tightened again at smashing, crashing sounds that clearly indicated a close hit.

"I suppose. It'll be all right. We can't die, not if I'm in the future, it'd be a time paradox." She patted his leg, giving it a small squeeze to try and comfort him, she wasn't entirely sure if what she said was true, but he didn't know that and he seemed to relax slightly.

"Glad I was out of London during the Blitz, off at school. They did this day after day for months." He offered up, his voice curious, "You don't seem bothered by the explosions now. More annoyed."

"Our house blows up a lot." She told him by way of explanation, "My brothers mainly, but almost everyone's done it at least once accidentally. Why I'm in London actually, we have to live in a horrible house because the dark wizards attacked and for probably the first time the house got blown up on purpose."

"How exactly does one accidentally blow up a house?" He asked, voice skeptical and incredulous.

"You must have grown up Muggle." Ginny said lightly, "Accidental magic for the most part, sheer stupidity is probably second and the inventing third."

"Inventing?" It was demanding, curious. "What were you inventing?"

"Telling would get me my own room again. In Azkaban." It was a bit harshly said and her hair got yanked harshly as he shifted, probably caught on a nail. This was not going to do, so she tried to restart for a friendly conversation again. "Let's see, I fell into the sheer stupidity category. I nicked everyone's wands in the house, curious what would happen if I tried a spell with that many. Turns out you just blow up the parlor and knock yourself seven ways silly. Woke up in St. Mungo's thinking I was a portrait guarding the pantry. Wouldn't talk to anyone until they got the password right."

He sounded truly curious and coldly haughty, perhaps she shouldn't have mentioned the muggleness. Some people were truly touchy about it and depending on what house he was in, he might be teased for it. It might be dangerous in this time. "You're serious?"

"Oh absolutely. Ch-" she cut herself off, no using of names, that's what the rules said, "my brother who works with dragons, tried to floo with a baby one and blew out the entire living room when the floo network said no, you can't do that. The poor thing got terrified and destroyed the rest of the room." She smiled happily into the darkness as another explosion went off, "But I got to name the baby dragon!"

"What did you choose?" He seemed to very much not enjoy the booms going off and she squeezed his arm in some sort of attempt at comforting again. While used to it or not, he seemed to have quite a bit of fear at not being in a proper shelter.

"I picked Lancelot and Guinevere out. I liked the tie to Arthur Pendragon and C said they wouldn't be able to tell for awhile, but says the little Welsh green is doing well and nesting another clutch. Turns out most of the dragon tamers hate the name because it's too long to yell if she's getting sassy, but she won't respond to any nicknames they try and give her. Ra-" This no using of names things was very hard to remember, "-said he liked it though and sings her the songs about her because she's real fussy nesting with her new clutch."

There was a beat of silence, "Two dragon taming brothers?"

"Nope, just my favorite." She'd been successful, no name usage! She'd have to write him about this, nice change of pace from school work, Dad almost dying and needing boy advice. She needed to say thank you for the book he'd sent anyway, he was right, it was very funny and dark as things were laughter was very much needed. Maybe she'd lend it to Hermione, who'd lend it to Harry, who'd return it to her and they could have a chat about it as friends. Or maybe she'd lend it to Cho Chang next time she stumbled across her crying in the loo, she needed to laugh more than anyone as sad as she was over Cedric.

His fingers tensed slightly into her skin where his hand rested around her arm, his voice losing the warmth it held moments before. "Ah, your suitor?"

She giggled at the term, hearing it echo around their cellar and felt him stiffen, "That'll be the day. He's C's friend, so a few years out of Hogwarts. Had an embarrassingly massive crush on him when I was small though. He's always been real gentle about it, still answers letters every time I write. Last letter was about how to dump a boy without you know, crushing their entire self esteem." She tried to diffuse the sudden tension that had nothing to do with the raid pouring down on them.

"Is that a concern?" He seemed bemused, "You would think you'd want to ensure clarity."

"There's a whole thing of etiquette around tossing someone that nobody tells you. You know things like don't do it in public, do it at the weekend so you don't have to see them the next day, don't be too blunt and say it's your fault, etc. Real helpful." She paused, "Wish he'd told me what to do if he begs. Didn't know how to handle that part, but I doubt he's ever beggged so probably slipped his mind."

"Begging is unbecoming." The boy offered up, derision, "What did the little-too-blunt girl from the future do?"

She blushed, she really hadn't handled that part with Michael well at all, "We didn't speak until an incredibly awkward Hogsmeade run in, where I found out he'd arranged the date while we were still together. Is that a thing here? Well now?"

"Yes, several times a year." His voice was almost joking, but something lurked under it. "You could just hex him."

She gave him another little laugh swallowed by another explosion, "I did, in front of his stupid friends. He turned me in, little rat."

He was quiet and it felt questioning, so she supplied the answer, trying to be aware that she needed to say as little as possible about the future and keep her scared companion on an even keel. "Nothing dark, just cursed him to tap-dance, took him ages to get back to Hogwarts. Got a very nasty set of detentions for it. Here, give me your hand. You can feel it, I think."

She grabbed it without really waiting, pressing his fingers into the lightly scarred words in her hand from detention with Umbridge. There was something about physical contact in this complete shaking darkness that seemed very necessary, vital to keeping her head. His fingers were soft, tracing it, "What does it say?" Then his tone changed and she couldn't tell if it was protective or intrigued as he traced and traced it, "Who did that to you?"

"It was a blood quill. I was supposed to write 'I will stop fighting', but instead I chose to write, 'I will keep fighting'. She hasn't noticed, but we're in a war in my time too. Guess they're going on more often than not in history."

"I rather like that." He told her lightly, fingers still tracing. "It's a nice sentiment." His voice got almost greedy, "Is it still Grindelwald? He's making quite the rise in Europe at the moment."

Ginny was quiet, "You know I can't answer that or even if it's muggle or magical."

"Muggles don't attack magical homes." He asked curiously, arm tightening around her, "Were you injured?"

"They were." Ginny was completely smug about that, "Didn't quite know what they were getting into when they decided to cross wands with my Mum and the rest of us. We're learning to duel at school."

"I'm the current dueling captain. It is a very popular club now, but most of the best dueling you learn happens within house. Dueling club is child's play." A particularly loud explosion went off near them, shaking more dust on them. "The best hexes are passed down that way, they don't let us learn the powerful ones, saying it is too dangerous. Only what's allowed in competition."

"Yeah," Ginny agreed, pleased, perhaps he was a lot like Harry then, breaking rules to make sure he was prepared for real battle against Grindelwald. His attitude wasn't perfect, but neither were Harry or Ron's these days and he had kindly gotten her to safety. "You have to be the faster draw if you're going to cross wands with a Slytherin."

"I wholeheartedly agree. Some of the wandwork I've seen in the Common Room is most impressive."

"You seem really nice for a Slytherin." She offered it up, "I don't think I said thank you yet, for saving my life back there. It was very brave of you."

He shifted slightly away from her, "You're quite welcome, I'll infer from your last comment you wear red and gold?"

"Maybe, maybe not even Slytherins know they've got the most insufferable house. I was a hat stall." She confessed, wondering looking back if it was because she had been very enthusiastically writing in her diary of a madman since she'd gotten it.

"How unusual, I bet you didn't expect that having siblings. I imagine you just followed them." It was not quite openly condescending.

She had and she felt defensive, "Well I bet you didn't expect a bunch of bombs to go off, either."

"On the contrary, darling, that happens quite frequently in this time." He sounded flirty, fingers still tracing those words on her hand. "I had been hoping Orion would be a quick learner today and I could make it back and forth without incident."

"It's his fault, I'm here anyway. Was hearing a story about him when I went popping backwards." She paused thoughtfully, "Do apologize to him for me, hit him with a bat-bogey hex right to the face to get him to stop attacking me. His screams brought his Mum running and I just bolted, know enough about the Blacks to figure I should get to the Ministry. Perhaps apologize to his parents as well, I didn't mean to show up in their kitchen."

"You'll be able to apologize yourself, I imagine you'll be enrolled in school here." He offered, "Perhaps this time if you're resorted you'll make a different choice." There was a hint there, that in this time there were no brothers to follow, but a Slytherin sitting very close to her.

Ginny frowned at that, trying to remember what Charlie had said about his own misadventures. "Think I just get put in quarantine until someone from my time shows up and gets me. They've got really specialized ways to get us back."

He played with something under his shirt for a moment, touching it thoughtfully and Ginny shook her head, fingers following and stopping the fiddling. She wasn't entirely sure why she felt so comfortable touching him, but here in the dark with dust shaking down on her, it was comforting. Sure they were talking and she was putting on a brave front, but she wasn't entirely sure what a muggle bomb was and they did scare her quite a bit. They were certainly a lot more powerful than the little dung bombs that just left a little smell with some sparks. Still her voice was knowing, "Extra heavy course load?"

"You are rather full of surprises. Is that what did this to you?" The light timbre was slightly impressed and very, very curious, not pushing away her hand.

"It doesn't work like that if you use a time turner, you've got to wait it out then. Too much time turner usage drives a person mad after awhile. Best friend at Hogwarts had one though. Easy to spot if know what you're looking for. Borrowed it once when she was so tired I could slip it off her neck to get the homework I'd accidentally mailed off in a letter redone."

"No magical, accidental apparition to save you?" Teasing, lightly taunting in a way.

"You can't apparate within the grounds of Hogwarts. Even those with the genetic quirk that allows us to go between times without being driven insane. We actually have to register and go take a class for situations like this. Only time I've ever heard the Unspeakables talk."

"That sounds interesting, there's an actual protocol?" His fingers were brushing into her hair now to try and get the soot away from his face and it felt rather nice. He too seemed to want the little human contact and she had a feeling at how hesitant he was at it that the Slytherin common room was not a cuddly place. Or perhaps it was a boy thing for girls were different, far more used to hugging or touching each other's faces in makeup application or hair being done. She didn't get the sense he was athletic from his uncalloused hands, so probably didn't have that sort of hand slapping or teammate teasing contact either. She made a happy noise to indicate she wanted him to keep playing with it.

"Oh yeah. Don't do magic if you can help it. Get to the governing body, don't give out details about the future, don't even give out your name, sit tight. Whole other set of rules if you find you're permanently stranded, but there at least you get to pick out your own name. Never been a huge fan of mine, so that would be nice." The last Ginevra Weasley had fled her arranged marriage on her wedding day, been killed in a duel and gotten the Weasley line cursed to have no daughters until seven generations later Ginny herself had surprised everyone by not being a boy.

There was a pause as he shifted her and glanced up at the lull, as if counting seconds. "I was named after my cockroach of a father. It's rather detestable to have to write it on assignment after assignment, quite angering at times."

"No nicknames to help it? I go by a shortened version of my name." She patted at him in commiseration.

"Only one, but in this time we must use our given names in school." There was a very curious tone to his voice that offered very little information, but sent a tiny shiver down her back as it felt like everything above them shifted horribly. "Are you cold?"

She found she was freezing, she was dressed for an afternoon indoors curled up by the fireplace. "Very much so."

There was a shifting as he got his arm off from around her and shuffling as he got his jacket off, pulling her practically onto his lap as he tucked it over them as a blanket. The lingering body warmth of the shabby winter coat made her realize just how cold she had gotten in the frigid air and she shivered again, curling into the warmth of the chest at her back as an explosion that horribly shook where they were, startling her. "How long does it go on?"

"It depends, they're doing another sweep, must have missed their target first go around." He sounded annoyed, callous even, "Britain will have had time to launch counter forces to fight, so we'll have stay down here for ages."

"But still, it's not Grindelwald, right?" Ginny asked again for reassurance, Muriel had told her terrible stories of his rise to power when Mum and Dad left her there for a week and gone on vacation when she was the only one left at home.

His arms tightened in reassurance, "No, this is not for the greater good. Grindelwald is getting a lot of traction for his ideas because of the muggle war, shows how barbaric they are and a few witches and wizards have been killed in these raids. He's got a chunk of Europe that was badly bombed whipped into a frenzy over it, since France's Ministries got hit."

"Why would they let you come back here? Not stay at Hogwarts on winter break? They do that in my time. I can't imagine it's near anything anyone would want to hurt."

"Because Headmaster Dippet is an indolent fool. He'd have to work then, change school charters, arrange for more food in the already tight rations and that would be a terrible imposition on him for the few students who do not want to spend their break getting bombed to death." There was an incredible amount of bitterness in his words, "Not even Professor Dumbledore and Professor Slughorn could find a way to talk sense into him, brilliant as Dumbledore supposedly is."

She turned her head, impulsively pecking his cheek in thanks for the warmth and wanting to comfort what sounded very much like the same front to cover fear she was using, he was deeply afraid he would be snuffed out by one of these bombs, "We're not getting bombed to death. London's just going to get a little facelift, that's all."

He stiffened at the contact, "Why did you do that?"

"Because you're out of sorts, because you saved my life, because you're making sure I don't freeze to death." She paused, feeling very shy then, "I won't do it again, I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just, well, I'm an affectionate person."

"You don't want anything?" His voice was very suspicious as she tried to shift off of him and he tightened his arms.

"Nope." She floundered, no filter between her brain and mouth, "That's very sad of you to think a peck on the cheek could be anything but friendly. My great aunt says that's how they greet in Switzerland, three little pecks, she lived there during this time."

"Show me." It slipped out as a demand. She had the distinct impression he very much had not meant to say it, did not ask for things like this, did not ask for affection at all. Perhaps mostly avoided it, but here in the dark with a girl who was very much not going to tell anyone he knew that he had any sort of weakness, it had managed its way from his lips. It was a little tricky, not really being able to see more than the barest outline of him and the fact she was sitting on him. She went from one side to the other, air pecking, gently turning his face with a finger to not bash into him.

"Don't be rude now, you have to return the greeting!" She scolded at his stillness, finding this strange situation rather amusing. Perhaps he'd never even been kissed, she hadn't gotten a look at him, a glimpse of dark hair as she was rushed half blinded, but maybe he was like Ron, woefully clueless when it came to girls. Maybe he had a horrible family like Harry. There was certainly a controlled stiffness in him that wasn't the most welcoming thing, but stuck in the past with everything happening, he at least hadn't immediately started to hex at her like stupid Orion Black. She rather pettily hoped he got sanctioned for underage usage of magic like Harry had.

There was a brush of lips at one cheek, at the other, a hesitation and then the brush of a nose against hers and a very decisive peck on her mouth. She knew her mother would frown if she ever found out Ginny opted to snog a near stranger, but in the heat of the moment, with bombs going off above her tucked into the arms of a boy that had just saved her, that was what happened. She had only kissed Michael, this boy seemed more determined to run the kiss than be a partner. Yet they managed their way though it, his hand going to twine in the hair hanging down her back and he was a far more aggressive kisser than Michael had ever been, nibbling at her bottom lip and sucking hard on her neck to mark her. It hurt and she pulled away, this was too far, too fast. There was an echoing silence, "I think the bombs stopped."

He made no move to continue their snog session at her stiffness in his arms, just silently pulled the coat back up around her shoulders. Content that he was not going to push the issue she slithered slightly down him, resting her head against his shoulder instead and did not mind when his arm curled around her waist. "How do we know when we can leave?"

"That eager to get away from me, darling?" Flirtatious, confident, teasing. It seemed a good snog agreed with him.

Her stomach growled in response and his chuckle rumbled through her. "There's a different siren that'll go off and tell us it's safe to leave shelter." He paused, "I do hope it's not too bold to say I hope you are one of the time travelers that get stuck."

Well, she very much did not want to be stuck. Still, this boy was very nice and there was no need to be rude. Her mother had been very clear that boys had extremely delicate hearts, even if they thought otherwise, and they needed to be handled with care. "C got stuck for about six months once, they couldn't read the date correctly for when to come get him and he was injured so he couldn't get himself back immediately. He was real out of sorts when Dad brought him home, they'd obliviated the hell out of him. We all sneaky listened to Dad and Mum talking though, but being out of time bumped up his Seer talents and he spewed a whole bunch of prophecies or maybe just ran his mouth. Caused a bit of a ruckus, not being as careful as he should have. He didn't get in trouble, so probably the former." She paused in thought, swallowing down the truth of the matter. Charlie had not gone back to dragons, had not been able to find the Ministry, but broke had kept challenging people to flying contests to get meals and clothes. With the result he'd flown for England in one of the early World Cups before there were any rules to prevent him, any statue of secrecy.

"Your brother is a Seer?" There was an intense interest there.

They all were to some extent, Percy saw the past, had carefully kept note of his dreams of Charlie's misadventures to give him. Had probably burned them, the prat. She shrugged against her cellar companion, "He's not a very coherent one, but all of us are to some extent, it runs in our bloodline. Screamed at the dinner table off and on that there was someone who was going to want to abduct me, but it never made any sense."

"No attempts to steal you away I take it?"

Ginny swallowed heavily, sitting in dark cellar with a Slytherin was not where she was going to think about her first year. She wondered if the Chamber had been opened yet in this time, truth be told she'd blocked out most details related to either opening. Her voice was cheerful, controlled, the tones she'd learned to stop the concerned eyes that still followed her. "Well, you did just drag me off and down here. Prophecy fulfilled. Portent achieved. Top marks in Divination for you."

"My very own Persephone." It was huskily said, fingers moving from her hair to her chin. She wasn't in the mood for kissing and did not tip her face up as he wanted. She'd lost her head earlier and regained it as fear drained away, snogging a stranger in the past was definitely on the things she wasn't supposed to be doing.

"Hades, then. See anything in Divination yourself?"

He ignored her question, "Did you learn how to do this in Divination? To harness this…..skill of yours?"

"Of course not. I didn't even bother with the class, our teacher is a fake Seer." She said it like it was completely obvious and realized she might have come off as condescending to this boy who'd brought her to safety.

He sounded very, very thoughtful, "I'd never put much stock into Divination before, crystal balls, omens and warnings from a tip of a tea cup. Yet you are here, from the future, tucked under my coat just as my last tea reading foretold. A mysterious stranger, a woman, a phoenix. Perhaps I'll always partner with Malfoy in class."

"Bet he's an unpleasant bloke." It slipped out and she mentally cursed herself even as he gave a chuckle beginning to ask something. So she rambled on to cover it. "Tea leaves and crystal balls are just tools to try and force a prophecy, right? C went to Seer school, but most of it just happens when it happens, there's a whole theory on time paradoxes of when they burst forth. It was technically above my head when I flipped through his book, but I gathered they go to the person who needs to hear them."

She didn't want this boy she'd snogged to think she was stupid. She was no Percy or Hermione, but she did alright in school when she tried. She had a feeling he was much more on the Bill end of the spectrum than the Percy one, probably wildly popular in his house the way he talked easily of being dueling captain. She got slightly defensive. "I hadn't gone to Hogwarts yet when I tried to read it."

There was something very speculative in his voice, in the nudging of his hand, "What do you see? You said all of you have it."

"Opted for the Arthimancy route over Divination, try to figure out how likely what I've dreamed is." She obliged the question he was asking.

"You should be in Divination." It was almost angry, as if she was a child that needed scolding.

"No, because I don't need to flip through a book to try and identify wadded up soggy shapes. What I see, I see clearly enough." It was sassily said, "I'll interpret my own dreams, no fake Seer and bizarre teacher needed."

She felt him smile against her hair, "You will be a refreshing classmate, perhaps you'll consider taking Divination this time around to amuse me in class."

She wasn't going to stay here, she didn't want to stay here, he'd figure it out soon enough. She ignored it, he couldn't simply will it to be. "The when or the why would be nice context though, not just glimpses of events." It was an opine, before she tried to explain further. "Sort of like a movie. Wait, do they have movies yet?"

"They exist. I was under the impression you were pureblood." There was definite judgement there in his tones.

"I am, but I saw one over summer. I loved it! Found it so fascinating. I think we should make wizarding ones." She truly had, her enthusiasm for the experience of going to the cinema rivaling her father's love for plugs. An idea lighting, offering him kindness for his silly notion that she'd stay and get bombed on again. "If I get stuck, let's go see one! I want to see if they're different in this time and I wouldn't have to sneak out to do it." Then it bottomed out, "Never mind. No clue how to use muggle money as if I had any to spend anyway."

"No time to grab a purse before your adventure?" It was teasing.

She picked at her bare secondhand dress that could not keep her warm and made a confession in this dark place, "My family is not…well, money is very tight, but we manage." It wasn't bitter, merely truthful and she tried to look at the bright side, "I make enough over hols to be able to buy proper uniform clothes for a girl now, over just sewing my skirts out of my brother's cast off pants."

There was a feeling of commiseration in the darkness, of connection. It grew as he found his words, the simpleness of what they were growing in the darkness. "I too must work for anything and wear second hand robes. Do you tutor as well?"

She pecked his cheek again at the understanding he offered, "No, homey things and child minding. This summer was house cleaning, it sucked, but the owner is a very generous person."

Sirius had practically thrown money at them, had circumvented her Mum's refusals at any sort of payment and Ginny very much appreciated the sneaky and tricking ways the young redheads had been compensated. She suspected it was the most fun he'd had in a very long time. "A London wizard?"

Technically yes, but Azkaban escapee also applied and as he knew she'd fled the Blacks best be careful. She chose her words carefully, suspiciously. "He was wandless." For a long duration anyway. "In class if I can't do something I can blame it on the fact I'm using a pass me down wand. They often take much more effort to use, or that's the story I stick to anyway. They feel wrong supposedly, not as effective and the professors are real nice about it."

He sounded completely startled, "You didn't even get your own wand?"

She panicked slightly, she needed to stop talking, and just started lying her face off. "No, probably half the witches in your classes as well. I guess you don't have any sisters if you've not heard of the tradition. Someday, I'll get one just for me." She looked forward to it, the day a wand would pick her, would say Ginny Weasley, yes, you are the one for me.

Of course, she could not anticipate the circumstances that it would play out under any more than she had anticipated this, but that was alright. So they talked and talked, she learned about his time, about his classmates, for he never once used the word friend. She was more careful with her words, made up more fake traditions when she messed up, increasingly ridiculous ones, because he seemed to be taking every word at face value. Made up rules at his increasing attempts for another snog, for he too was not her suitor. Pureblood daughters didn't do this, didn't do that. She thought of Harry as made a rule that a certain kisses with a wizard who'd saved a witch's life meant courtship and as she was not born in this time, he couldn't offer a suit. She'd done an embarrassingly large amount of arthimancy her first year in the class on dreams of kissing Harry to accept it was a mathematical inevitability and take Hermione's advice to focus on other boys.

Traditions and rules she'd later whine and rally at, no clue it was all her own fault they'd become the trend in her grandparents era of courting. Strangely hoping Aunt Muriel got stuck with them as payback for all the outdated etiquette she'd shoved at Ginny year after year.

Eventually, exhausted, not quite warm and hungry she just went to sleep against his shoulder as he explained some arcane magical theory she held no interest in. Perhaps if she'd stayed awake she would have realized just who she was comforting, flirting with talking to a bit earlier.

…

As a hard sleeper, she would not know that the power flickered back on and he spent time reexamining her, memorizing her. That yes, he had done right in saving in this uncommonly beautiful girl with freckles in just the right places to highlight her bone structure and creamy skin. Perfectly heighted to where in heels he would not need to bend uncomfortably to kiss her, her forward dress indicating his swan was no longer a cygnet. This girl with a mane of pence shaded hair with little stripes from sunlight and whose hairpins he would tentatively take out and pocket out of habit, wanting something of hers. This girl whose little hand resting against him did indeed have a light scar of words on her hand, more felt than seen. He decided then she would be his Persephone, his little queen he'd dragged down into this dark cellar, abducted from standing on the street. Her brash lightness and cheerfulness a warmth that he was not willing to relinquish. Just as she perfectly fit into his arms, her mouth fit his, her kiss the perfectly heated bath he wanted to sink into. It wouldn't matter that she spoke ill of dark wizards, for in the end, in reality, it was all a matter of perspective and there was plenty to criticize about Grindelwald.

So as she slept, he sat and plotted ways to keep her. To ensure she could not go back to her own time. Breaking her wand perhaps? No, she had mentioned it was in the bloodline. He needed books for this, the library to learn, for before now he had only had a passing interest in time magic as related to time turners. Had only read what little he could get his hands on in relation to time turners, which was very closely guarded information by the Ministry, so what was available was mainly horrific tales of time mishaps as a warning. Still, there had to be a way. Perhaps he could convince her not to go to the Ministry or obliviate from her that she needed to when the sirens gave the all clear. He brushed softly at the little blood on her arm where one of Orion's hexes must have grazed her and anger grew at Orion Black, a very harsh bright anger. He thought about what he knew of blood magic, of the book he'd been reading, trying to recall if there was a way to tie them, so that she could not leave because he could not go forward.

He shuffled around in his schoolbag, reaching in for the journal he was carefully keeping and dipped his quill into the blood on her arm. If he could not make her stay, then she was going to bring him forth into her time at this very age. He'd just need a young soul to sacrifice on both ends and be able to use this diary to find his fiery, nameless beauty.

It occurred to him that another portion of his soul might already have her and the thought of having to best an older, wiser version of himself was a daunting, but thrilling prospect. He wondered what she dreaming about, if it was prophetic, if was him and cursed the restrictions limiting his magic at the moment so he could not rifle through her mind.

….

Albus Dumbledore walked companionably with Elphias, having been in a meeting with the Special Advisor to the Wizengoamot when the raid began and had chosen to stay and help with any wizards that did not send their flag indicating they were uninjured. Elphias paused, "Been 4 hours and still no word from a Tom Riddle Jr, isn't he that brilliant student of yours, Albus? Wrote that excellent paper on wizarding law?"

"Yes, indeed. He is certainly very bright, but I did not agree with all of his points on equality laws. They were allegorically similar to what has been done in this war the muggles are fighting. Shall I accompany you to check him? He has no family, I'm afraid so if he is injured or hurt, it falls to us."

"Yes of course, your help is always welcome." They set off to where his trace was and Elphias let out a whistle at the damage in the area. Once they'd located him and moved the rubble, down the stairs and they were met with a sight of a young man, with a sleeping young woman on him.

"Hello Professor Dumbledore, Mr. Doge." It was politely and quietly said to not wake his companion.

"Are you injured? We didn't get a flag, Mr. Riddle."

"I'm afraid it slipped my mind, I was preoccupied. My apologies." He tightened his arm around the girl as if she was perhaps going to be taken. "Professor Dumbledore, do you mind checking her arm? She has as an ugly cut that hasn't stopped bleeding."

"Most certainly." He adroitly moved himself over and peeled back the coat covering her and paused at her clothes, but decided to heal her arm first and address the issue later. His tone got disapproving and his look was stern, "Mr. Riddle, this is a hex wound. Any idea how she came to have it?"

"Orion Black attacked her, sir. As it's not in term, Mr. Doge, does that mean he gets sanctioned for underage magic? Especially used on a confused girl." It was very clear he wanted some sort of punishment for the other boy.

"Why yes, the circumstance will be considered of course. Using hexes is very frowned upon. Oh my, from those clothes she looks like she might be a muggle. Kind of you help her, Mr. Riddle."

Dumbledore healed it and watched it reopen wider this time. "I believe this is better treated at St. Mungo's. Elphias, I believe I can take it from here, but if you would do me the kindness of asking Mr. Black just what he threw at her, that will speed the healing."

"Of course, Albus. I'll go stop in now." Then he twisted away with a last tip of his hat.

"Mr. Riddle who is your sleeping companion? She is of the age where she should be at Hogwarts, but alas I do not recognize her."

No answer was forth coming, finally he offered one. "She's a muggle, she's from my orphanage. We were taking a stroll."

"Let us be truthful with each other, Tom. Is she where she's supposed to be?"

"Yes, very much so." His arms tightened around her again and Dumbledore eyed him in understanding, seeing the way he was looking at her.

"I see. Is she when she is supposed to be? Alas I don't recognize her and she is of Hogwarts age." He indicated her clothing, at the Hogwarts shield pin in place of a missing button on her dress.

Tom shook his head, eyes betraying his own anger at himself at not seeing the small detail and began the argument he'd been crafting, "No, but sir, I'd like to make a request. I'd like to keep her here. Her time is incredibly unsafe, you must understand that it would be better for her. She was sent to me for protection from a war heavily targeting her family."

"We are in a war, Tom, both muggle and Grindewald." He said it gently seeing no reaction on the cool countenance, wondering if this child was a sign that Tom Riddle would embrace his muggle background and help other magical orphans as he grew. The darker thought coming in that young Mr. Riddle had studied far enough back to find the details of how witches were first made and might have chosen a pretty muggle girl from his orphanage to test it out on. He'd stop by the library back at Hogwarts tonight and see what books were available on the subject and if they were being checked out. A potential deterrent to prevent a the brewing duels coming up with the holiday of love the sharp dueling captain in front of him would likely encourage.

He offered a small concession. "Let us hear what she has to say, but time travelers must be returned to their proper time. Tom, she cannot stay or interfere. May I have her wand?"

"She was half blind from Orion and couldn't find it when she looked."

The girl's eyes opened, widening in recognition. "Hello Professor Dumbledore."

She looked up at her companion to say something and her face went white. The distinctive crack of apparition occurred simultaneously above them and two time travelers appeared with thin, flooring breaking their fall. The redheaded young man and dark haired one were in matching dueling tournament garb. He recognized the redheaded young man, the Ministry's courier pigeon. "You're crushing me."

The dark haired young man Albus didn't recognize rolled to the side and looked around. He scrabbled up, wand drawn. "Mind boggling curse, C."

"Wrong. We're back in time. Immediate pickup." He pulled himself up as well, glance askance, "How are you even here?"

He waved a wand at him. "No clue. C, give me wand back. Yours botches everything. Got to remember that wand switching curse." A pause, "Where are we? Hey -"

"Stop talking." It was a bark from the redheaded man. "You can't say your name, can't say the year. Can't say anything about where we're from. Just, keep your big fat mouth shut." A pause as he looked at the distraught, blank faced girl, voice soft and moved for her. "C'mere, you alright?"

Sirens began to fill the air again. She looked like the extremely frightened goat his sister had once consoled in a burst of magic she couldn't contain and Aberforth had helped her raise. The young girl was looking at the floor, swallowing compulsively on repeat, too distraught to have words. "Hello, Albus. Always a treat when we cross paths. Ho, stranger. Where are we? Specs were pretty vague on my end. More of a violent yank."

"In a cellar in 1943. Muggle bombs are dropping on London." It was tightly said by Tom as the young woman got herself standing, patting for her wand in a panic.

He made his voice heard over the calls to safety as the girl fled to those she knew. "You can't use magic right now. It will put a target on us. Please put your wands away."

"Stop C, yours is filthy." It was the taller of the two, undoing his cloak, not paying any actual attention to their other companions. "You're okay, sweetheart. Just breathe, you're doing better than C when this happens. Flipped his head last time and snapped back completely mental."

"Started chucking pork chops at everyone in the canteen." It was lightly said as he wrapped her in the offered cloak, tugging her down to sit. "Was really targeting this oaf, think he's the only person I launched sides at. You'll just get neatly obliviated, won't even remember this. Just that you went somewhere. Are you hurt?"

She shook her head mutely, eyes glued to Tom's schoolbag as the other one dropped down on her other side and Albus chose to sit as well. He studied them, her palatable fear and twisting aura reaching for comfort from her two companions and Tom. He looked sharply at Tom, what precisely had he done to this child in the time they sheltered alone? In the time that would come, if his words were true that she had been sent back to him for protection. Tom was staring at her intently, studying the young woman, but answered. "She is injured, if magic was safe I would have healed you, Perspehone."

The familiar time travel liaison quirked a smile and gestured at their surroundings, "Fitting moniker. Would opening a wallet with an extension charm on it be dangerous? We've got a healing kit and a few calming droughts. Alright little freckle princess, let R take a look at you."

Albus appreciated the effort he was taking to not outright say they were related, or at least conceal the exact relation. She nodded and the taller one turned to look at Professor Dumbledore. "Would you prefer to, sir? I'd wager your diagnostic skills are sharper than mine. Especially for humans, I'm a creatures specialist."

"I'm flattered by your assumption, but I would hope your time has deepened the skill and study." He turned to Tom's eager young mind. "Occupations with wild creatures often rely on different forms of assessment to avoid using magic that might scare their charges. The theory is worth knowing as it pops up occasionally on N.E.W.T.s."

"Wandless magic will target us." Tom protested at the young man with a healing burn on his arm turned the white lipped girl's face and froze.

"Go ahead. It's not precisely wandless, it's a focused use of one's inherent magic, Tom. No spells are done, verbal or nonverbal. If you'd like to learn more about healing I'm happy to provide introductions to those in the field." He had hope for Tom Riddle, hope that his brilliance could find stimulation in respectable paths and not the fascination of the darker arts Albus suspected had drawn him in.

The time pigeon had given his relative space to not interfere with any readings and addressed the other student with a warm smile. "You alright, Tom? He can take a look at you next, he's decent enough with humans, almost took the healer route." A glance upwards at the noise. "Always hate when I end up in muggle war times. Can't imagine how awful it must be to live during it. I'd be a basket case."

"I don't need to be looked at." He was watching the other wall closely, at the color coming back into the young woman's face and she wriggled.

"Sorry, it tickles a bit. There's a sandwich in the left pocket, sugar will help the shock. Everything else can wait until we'll not be blown up. Pull up your sleeve so I can see the hex marks." A pause, hand hovering lower. "Is your foot from where the blood swan attacked you? I thought you we're kidding when you wrote you kicked it back."

She dug out the sandwich and nodded, holding her arm out, her brother shaking his head in exasperation. "Did you seriously bring a sandwich with you into the dueling arena?"

"I made you one too, you prat." A glance at Tom and Albus as the Australian peered at the wound. "Don't touch it, it'll close up on it's own if it's left alone. Just a hex for quick dueling points. Either of you hungry? How long have you been trapped here?"

"Ages." Tom answered, the intense attention going back to the girl. It was politely asked, but still managed to be accusatory. "Your favorite?"

She didn't seem willing or able to speak, the man next to her grinning instead, looping his arm across her shoulders, giving her a slight squeeze. "Course. Been my girl since she carried around gnomes in bonnets." A pause, "C, don't forget you've got a date to make."

"Keep a man's secrets, will you?" He glanced at the schoolbag the girl was staring at, "Why is your wand in his bag?"

Professor Dumbledore was extremely displeased with his pupil, with the answer he'd been given minutes ago regarding her wand. He gave him a sharp look, but chose not to address it here, not in front of a girl he clearly admired. Teenager's egos demanded certain amounts of delicacy, for their world views were so very sheltered and focused on each other. It was in a way reassuring that the young, measured bright pupil had the same problems as his peers. He was apologetic, getting and going to hand it to her, "Must have jostled in when I carried you down the stairs. Would you like me to polish it for you, Persephone?"

It was an incredibly intimate request, to ask to share or care for another spellcaster's wand. Albus suspected the girl did not know the depth of it, but flinched and didn't protest when he took her reaction as a nod. The buzzing noise of planes overhead was growing and it seemed to alarm the large young man the most, who was starting to glance around in concern. "Weren't the walls just blue? Wards changing?"

Albus looked at him, he had not traveled with a time turner or have the protection in his blood to prevent time madness. "No. Have you done blood bonds with anyone here?"

The pigeon understood immediately, looking at him in alarm. "An Unbreakable Vow here and there and I think, they might have done a blood switching spell. When you splinched yourself and she was warded out so adults could talk."

The young man didn't seem particularly able to hear them, seemed to be watching someone they couldn't see moving about and was trying to comfort them. "Don't listen to your brothers, they're just mad about their scores and Mum's hassling. They're not having any more fun in Gryffindor than you are, plus their tower doesn't have all the trapdoors Ravenclaw tower does. Done the tower to deep challenge yet?"

"R, shut up." It was desperately said as the redheaded young man started shaking him.

He blinked and shoved back. "I'm awake, there a hatching?" Looked around and shook his head to clear it, giving the young woman next to him a very startled look as if he'd never quite seen her before and was trying to recognize someone else in her face. Voice tight with panic and something else. "You alright?"

She nodded and when his eyes fell on Tom, there was forceful hostility, hand pulling his own want promptly to have it snatched by his friend. "Give me her wand. Now."

"Or what?"

Albus stepped in, "Gentlemen, please calm down. Tom, please return her wand. Our guest is in the beginning stages of time madness and will likely have several confused outbursts before we can get him safely back to his own time." At the look of worry on young Persephone's face he explained, "It isn't permanent, he would need to be completely stranded. Written accounts describe it as vivid hallucinations around the people and places they are in. I suspect, the two of you who know him will be featured heavily."

The young man was looking at him in recognition, "Do you have Fawkes yet?"

"I do." Tom's interest had also perked, for his wand contained one of Fawkes' tail feathers.

He got an apologetic grimace, "Sorry in advance, Fira is very rude so she barges in on you to see Fawkes or show him the little ones. You'll know her before I get to school, she loves scaring people by popping out."

"You can't have birds as pets at school." Tom countered in the same prefect tone he used on his fellow Slytherins to stop shenanigans instantly.

He got a glare, "Yeah well, she's wild and does what she wants. Keep talking and I'll have her drag you up to get a bomb dropped on you." A hand down his face, "Sorry, kid. Maybe go back to the corner out of my direct like of sight, let C be the verbal punching bag."

The young woman dragged the hand from his chin and wound it between hers, still very out of sorts, but drawn out of her own internal trauma. "Can you have her come to my class and scare another Professor for me? It was the most fun I've ever had in Potions. I'll write you the teacher I have in mind."

"Sure, sweetheart." It was shy and skittish, still looking at her. "Is what I'm seeing real?"

Now that was a very tricky question and a deeper observation showed the struggling with composure young people in front of him had very compatible magic, each of theirs trying to reach out and calm the other, tangling and mixing. "They are described as hallucinations, it is not a well understood field of magic. Complicated by several well regarded narratives as being discovered to be falsehoods."

"What do you see?" It was curiously asked by several cellar inhabitants.

He blushed and looked away from her face, down to the held hands and a bracelet on her wrist. It was said with relief then disgust. "That's why. All those times you made everyone play wedding. This place is infested with tuberculosis. You both need to get treatment or vaccinated as soon as we're back."

"Wizards and witches cannot catch it." Albus soothed at the confused faces including the one tensing with time sickness, "The version that affects magical folk happily has a quite simple cure."

Albus moved over to Tom as the young man clenched his jaw and forcibly stiffened. He intended on drawing Tom into a conversation, to allow their guests the freedom to manage the problem without he or Tom overhearing too much of what they should not. He followed his gaze at the question Peresphone was asking. The redheaded young man, crossing his arms, voice flat. " _Cruciatus Curse_. It's not as bad for him, sis, manages to stay on his feet. Why he duels shield position."

"Poppycock." Tom said it scoffing, it got the required result.

Green eyes flashed in anger and Albus spoke first, "There are many varieties of magical protection, Tom. From our guests size he perhaps has drippings of giant blood generations back. Perhaps not, but all magical beings that do not use wands carry certain amounts of protection against spells in their blood."

"Not part giant." It was automatically said as he got up and headed for the corner to brace himself into facing the corner in what Albus suspected was an attempt to get this cellar to stop running through time.

Tom looked very thoughtful. "Professor Dumbledore, if two bouts of magic are done at the same time and one moves continuously away would the target follow the second one? He clearly cannot stay here, not if his outbursts become magical, we could perhaps split the groups and get everyone to safety. I believe the Blacks have a private floo close by. Persephone badly needs Healer attention."

"This area is residential, Tom." It was clear who he wanted gone from jealousy couched in polite, thoughtful tones. It was equally as clear he didn't give a damn if Orion Black's house got targeted, which Albus did. The Black family had deep roots in their world and he counted their eccentric matriarch as a close friend.

"It sounded like west of here towards the park was heavily bombed during the earlier raid. Three sweeps so it's unlikely to still be residential there." He frowned as he said it, the perfect display of grief and Albus' blood ran cold.

So too had the redheaded girl's, bolstered by those she knew, "How dare you suggest that? I'm not surprised at all, but I'm bloody disappointed, Tom. Clever words, lofty ideals the capacity to be so, so much more than-"

"You know me?" It was said in delight as her hands got tighltly squeezed by her companion, ugly comprehension dawning on the other two faces and hidden away before young Tom noticed. Albus was going to have to review this, it becoming suddenly very clear this was not a sheer coincidence.

"Yes." Her lips quivered and tears filled her eyes, but did not fall. "I loved you, you bastard. You want me to get to St. Mungo's safely run the distraction route yourself and get blown up."

She tried to release the hand she'd been holding, finding hers snatched, held and pulled into a tight hug to keep her from getting her wand. The sound of frustration at her containment indicating she was on the verge of losing control of her magic in anger. It got kicked Albus' way across the dirty floor and he picked it up, memorizing the soot covered markings in hope to recognize it when the time came. Tom looked delighted, unfazed by the angry reaction he'd evoked. "Let me kill him."

"No." It was forcefully declared by both future visitors.

The sporadically seen time liaison sighing, gentling. "The wizarding world is kept very tightly on the most optimal timeline. I know that's hard to hear, harder to digest, but I've had to go to the others and…."

"He pops back regularly bashing mental trying to kill me in a variety of ways he deems are a kindness over wherever he's been and what's happened there. Gives his report and gets obliviated back into normal as soon as the Ministries are sure again." A softening of his grip on her, "You survived falling in love with him once, didn't you? It made you stronger, sweetheart, we all see that."

She looked at him for a long moment, then back over at Tom. "Give him the time turner you've got around your neck, you feckless ferret. Just sitting there watching him lose his head to time madness is cruel."

"I'd advise you to lend it out if you'd like to continue to be trusted with it next term, Mr. Riddle. They are not allowed off grounds and should have been turned into your Head of House at the end of term." Albus offered in counsel, he'd have to write Horace, because Horace could have simply let his favorite student keep it over break at Tom's request or had a fake turned into him. He suspected the first, Horace was genial, clever and kind hearted, the Head of House perfect to help guide his keep into more harmless ways of achieving their ambitions than aligning with Grindelwald.

She got released to get it with a tiny whisper in her ear. She took it from Tom, looked at him and slapped him. He touched his cheek, fingering the redness, placing his hand over it in a way not meant to soothe any pain, but meant to keep it. To feel the stinging evoked from the passions of a girl who loved him. Albus recognized it from his own youth, from hte moments where his sister's volatility carried far more love than her coddled calmness and quiet smiles. The thought if he could only explain the sensation, the accident, if there was a world where she didn't have to hide, it would be easier to find the balance between the two for her.

He'd caught her offending hand with his other one and brought it to his lips, kisisng the back of it. She tensed and Albus moved to intervene if she attacked him, but she yanked her hand back, none of the fire between them dissapating. She turned away with a snap, a final shot. "I forgive you. I have to, to forgive myself."

Young Tom Riddle clearly had no idea what to make of that statement, of the weight of the ancient magic she'd just given him carried. He had been forgiven, it was done, he carried it and it would leave it's mark. Dumbledore would encourage him to research it, to use the gift she'd given him, the grace Aberforth had granted him to learn to forgive himself. It was not an easy path, to examine yourself truthfully and rexamine yourself at every choice made to change paths. To put feet down a path that eschews the power brilliant young wizards so often feel entitled to.

It was settling in the air, on Tom, on Dumbledore himself and two barely men from boys smiling at her. Dumbledore would watch this later, would ruminate in the safety of Hogwarts over this memory, but he knew it was time to prepare to offer the same forgiveness to someone else. He just needed to brush up on his dueling first and see if Gellert did indeed have the Elder Wand. It was going to hurt perhaps worse than the disappointment and anger he'd carried.

A hit happened nearby, close enough to shake the ground. She had done magic, they were targeted and planes were close. The two boys shared a look, one full of meaning, the taller one snatching his wand back. "I'll run the distraction. Sky's a calling."

"There's. -" Albus started.

"No, Albus. Maybe not. Where do you want to be picked up?" It was tightly said, eyes with a sheen as he pried his sister from him.

"Gram's summer house." He let out a bird whistle and was gone at a sprint protests and wishes not returned, the time turner she'd just handed him swinging dangerously from his hand. Whether it was chance, or magic, it flipped once and a glance showed Tom looking away from what had been entrused to him, the only authorized current user.

Fawkes' song could be heard coming in response, had probably been making his way from the Ministry at his own pace since he realized Albus wasn't coming back for him. They made it safely to a private Healer, Albus opting to eschew St. Mungo's given their expected busyness of the day. A healer itching to have her hands filled with patients and trapped in her time of recovery, who badly needed out of her rabid potion making. She was discreet as well and Albus had his suspicions that his two future guests might be related to deep auburn haired Healer with a dragon taming twin.

No surprise showed on her face at her guests, none could, all but her eyes were veiled to cover the current facial oddities slowly resolving themselves from an unfortunately gone wrong test, voice shrilly high. "Hello, Albus. Let's have a look at what you've brought me this time. Sit here, dear."

"No, I want to go and-"

"I'm going, calm down and do as your told for once." Her brother scolded before pausing, "And don't worry if there's a wait, alright? He had a time turner. Love the veil, Healer."

He left and Tom asked eagerly, them, "Do you know him?"

"The Ministry has Healers on call for everything under the sun, Tom. Let us step out for privacy and set to tea, before we are kicked out." Albus offered, Muriel Prewett most certainly wasn't on the call list at the moment, he didn't think any married witches were, their time focused outside of work with their familial duties.

Tom made no move to help, hunkered down and stared at his empty cup. "You must see it isn't safe for her, Professor Dumbledore. That I must be allowed to protect her."

Albus filled his cup from his wand, settling next to him, mulling what to say to an unloved child he'd taken from a nicely kept orphanage who'd had a pretty girl from the future land in his lap, intrigue him, confess her love, shout her distaste, slap him and forgive him all in the span of a day. To a teenage boy he suspected barely felt for others, who had buried the basic instinct years ago to make sense of the lot he'd been dealt. "If she is here Tom, time changes and you take away the chance for her to care for you as she does. Her reactions were unusually strong."

"Passionate." He was corrected by the young man who had yet to lift his tea cup to his mouth, who was in a violence of emotion Albus had never seen and did not appear forced. "She is not mine if she goes, that…time mad oaf will ruin it."

"I only heard one confession of love, Tom." He stated calmly, testing the edges of the distracted brain gently. "Even when he was in visible distress."

This was mulled and Albus continued on, filing away what he saw separately and keeping his focus on the boy and not the legillimens work. "I also heard forgiveness, Tom. There is an incredible gift in that ancient magic, yet forgiveness can be fleeting, can it not? If she is forced to stay when she does not want to, what then?"

A brutal unhappiness passed from eyes to mouth, before smoothing away. "Then why is she here? She was targeted and unhappy where she was, coincidence didn't throw her back to me."

"I do think this is coincidence, Tom. My understanding of events is our guest was thrown back to Mr. Orion Black's company. She fled into your path, I believe? If she was thrown back on purpose to a person for protecting, the timing would have been very, very specific." He gave the explanation as logically as he could and he took a stiff sip of his tea, Albus mental probing taking a jolt.

He receded his mind, he needed to get Tom's memory modified as soon as possible with the mental strength of defenses he was showcasing. He was pleased the glare he was getting was dropping into the blankness of the heavily draughted tea. He was rapid with his work on the young man's memory, he could not erase his Persephone or the blurred, hidden parts around her, but he could obliviate other aspects of his curious day. Could weave the protected pieces into a seamless memory ending with their fight and featuring himself as the only other participant, leaving emotional sentiments untouched.

He reset the clock in the kitchen with a flick of his wand, emptied his teacup and moved to where he had been before going to undo the spell and pausing at the door opening again. The door was ripped open and two time traveling strangers were back, soaking wet, holding a set of wet young sooty twins. "Are they alright?"

One started crying and rain poured out of him, Muriel reaching for him, showing she could do the same and soaking herself. The young man who'd run to save their lives had clearly gone partially deaf, shouted. "Their house is gone, accidental magic protected them."

Albus smiled as he looked at Muriel, now reaching for the other, unveiled eyes alight as she busied them off for a check, other patients ignored. "Do you have the address?"

"No time to check, grabbed em and kept going. I don't want them to hear." A pause as he rubbed at his ear, Albus obliged with adjusting the acoustics to accommodate both of them as he took his bone breaking hug from Persephone.

"Can you hear me alright?"

A nod, voice eeking out the unfortunate details. "The parents are gone, muggle house, right by a factory. Do I need to sign anything? They'll get a magical family, right?"

He looked after Muriel, the noises of soothing cooing heard, the woman who'd lost one child early, one devastatingly late in pregnancy due to Grindelwald. He had to find out at least a better name than the Ministry Time Liaison or Courier Pigeon, was grinning madly. "Think they found one, mate. You're from the future, just let Albus say he found them."

Perspehone had launched herself at him, exclaiming in delight that he hadn't gotten blown up. He gave her a brilliant smile, one full of an equal amount of tenderness before setting her down. "I'm getting this wiped, right? Scrubbed from my mind and soul?"

The pigeon looked at him in commiseration, "That brutal getting through? Time madness? You won't remember a thing, I'll do it myself if you ever do." Before turning to Albus, "Let me know if you need paperwork snapped back, I'll pop out in about five days to check. Easy enough to fake paternity if need be. Would you like them wiped here or on the other end? I'll have to be done, post return. Help is waiting."

"I think it's best if it's done by those later in time. Though may I have a brief look at your experience, young lady?"

"No." She shook her head and then apologized. "If you knew and let it all happen anyway the people who trust you most will lose that trust. Like they said, I survive and it made me stronger, made everyone stronger."

"Go well." He respected the young lady's decision, her foresight and waved them off.

…

He was waiting for them, tucked in the back room used for Order meetings and the kitchen cleared of curious inhabitants by Molly's most strident demands to St. Mungo's. They were not going to miss their visiting appointment and that Ginny was perfectly fine, but Fred and George would not be if they kept up their product testing. A guilty enough glance exchanged that the others had believed it without a second thought and Albus smiled to himself at the shuffling out through the see through wall, either Charlie had said something or they were testing quite interesting things remained to be seen.

What was seen instead was a very distraught Ginny Weasley, who immediately and very much regretted her last words to him in the past. An out of sorts, in need of healing Ralph Robinson who made it enough steps to grab the cauldron of stew, chuck it at the laid out bowls and promptly dry heave into it in attempts to lose his stomach or mind. The second eldest Weasley looked tired, aggravated and was still effervescently smiling at his dearest friend's continued survival of a prophecy he ran straight for at every opportunity, slapping him on the back to help it along. Eyeing the mess of stew some in bowls, some not, he grabbed the bread to dip off the table stew. "Ho, flip side. Pretty certain we all need a solid heal up, fuel up and wipe."

"What is wrong with you?" Ginny hissed it at him, "You should have let me-"

"Do exactly as much as you did." He took a soppy bite, "Again, Gin. Optimal timeline, it hurts, it's horrible, but Ginny, if you'd done more or less-" He shuddered. "Professor Dumbledore will erase it."

"If it's optimal." It was sniped, she was bitterly close to frustrated, overwhelmed tears. Tears she had likely not shown to others in years and Albus gestured for her to sit, to take the cup of hot chocolate with a carrot floating in it.

Before he could offer her a new one she'd taken a sip, biting it out and turning towards stew. She was shaken, hungry and in a distress that needed fixing before the other two. "Ginny, if you'd like to enjoy a meal in peace I can tend to what I need to now."

She paused, looked at her friend, still in no shape to have his own mind repaired and nodded solemnly. "Please. I don't want to remember any of it. There'll never be a meal in peace again."

He took it from her and put it in a vial, watching the rushed version. Her initial terror, her easy warmth in the scary situation with a stranger, her heart dropping realization, two old memorized letters from the two dragon tamers who'd come to her aid now offering commiseration, comfort and friendship without the worried oversight or blame running through her mind. The boys she thought about, the ones at school, the boys she was comfortable enough to mention, one ex boyfriend at school and one out of school friend. He lingered, drawing out the last bit, needing to know, hunting desperately as he was about Tom Riddle's life at this point. Yes, she had meant it. She had forgiven Tom Riddle as surely as Lily had loved Harry, she hated Lord Voldemort, feared him, intended on fighting him as often and viciously as she could, but this child before him had forgiven Tom Riddle.

When she dreamt of Tom Riddle she needled handkerchiefs in the night until her brain quieted and owled them to orphans in penance. When she dreamt of Lord Voldemort she scribbled her arthimancy equations so hard her quill broke to stop her shaking and fled Gryffindor tower in the dead of night to stare at the painting of Paddy Patrick the Poisoned Parseltonge and his pile of banished, beheaded snakes.

He released her, "Some dinner and a headache potion perhaps might be a good idea, Miss Weasley."

He could perhaps ask Lady Violet to keep her in the tower, but with her tendency to speak word would get out about a special privilege. He could however recommend a holiday redecoration of Common Rooms to each Head of House and ensure that Miss Weasley's painting stood within bounds Professor Umbridge could not breach.

"What happened?" She asked wearily, woozily.

"You came across something left lying around too long in this house. Let's get you off, settled and full for the night." Nymphadora Tonks was there, pulling her up, a tray with a heaping bowl of stew and fresh steaming caldron bread floating at the ready.

"But." Ginny paused, looking around for someone or something else, tugging at a phantom cloak no longer around her shoulders and let herself be propelled out of the room with her hand to her head asking about her father's recovery.

Remus, Sirius and Minerva disillusioned, none looking happy at their tasks. Remus glancing for a long time at the doorway to presumably ensure the ladies were well out of earshot, fooling not even the stew. "I've taken care of it, he thinks a mind boggling curse during the duel caused Charlie to create a portkey to visit his mother. He's more concerned about their dueling standing with a 'flee' than anything else at this point." Remus rubbed a temple, "Before he was erased he demanded no assigned missions here anymore, not even meeting requests, only Eastern front. Surprisingly ticked that he hadn't been hit by a bomb."

Albus nodded, "Anything else?"

"The young man with you, he thought it was Lord Voldemort."

Albus closed his eyes, "Yes, or the beginnings of him."

There was a long silence, Sirius breaking it. "Well, Robinson saw him murder several people in that cellar. Women, hair like Lily's."

"Across various occasions." Remus added and Dumbledore swallowed, useful information, but no less horrific or distressing.

He opened his eyes. "Thank you for the information. Minerva, a word?"

The other two left the room and Albus pulled a bowl of stew towards himself, she made no move to sit. "You understand the implication of what Remus and Sirius have told us. Of Ginny-"

"I do, but I do not however, think we need to worry the Weasleys." A bite of stew and Minerva was trying to not look aghast. "She is not on his radar, Minerva, but if special precautions are taken I suspect she will be. He has not ventured towards the Blacks, though he knows the address nor have any of his followers. From his questioning of Severus, it appears he believes the young woman to be of his house."

"I recall there were many an unnatural redhead in Slytherin until we banned hair color alterations." Minerva's lips thinned into a line.

"While I respect Mr. Robinson's wishes, he may be required to return to England and kept here, Minerva. All of Lord Voldemort's mirrors must be present for him to break in turn." He took a bite of bread, not liking the statement, not liking himself, but understanding the necessity of it far deeper than anyone else in this war.

"Those two statements are at odds, Albus." Minerva's tone was both droll and questioning.

"They are not. Mr. Robinson has plenty of reasons to land his boots on this soil and I suspect he will of his own volition, I just ask that you keep them here. A time may come where our muggleborns aren't protected again, seeds are in place to preserve relations with foreign Ministries. With all Ministries."

"And if that continues to pose a problem?" She asked, swallowing down their conversation to muse on later.

"There is an egg in the Chamber of Secrets he has the rare expertise to look at."

….

30 years later

He took the very old dueling robes with the Romanian reserve crest on the back from the hook at the very edge of the spare closet. He'd pulled them from an old untouched box from Romania for his son to wear in courtship dueling to be met with a pat from Ginny, who'd already taken care of a new set. He was the one dueling today for the first time formally in almost as long, she was watching him in amusement. "I can't believe you and Charlie are wearing those."

"Why not? They still fit." He cracked his shoulder, "I only promised to leave dragons out of it, not to not wear them. You're in trouble Gin, not even rooting for me."

"You're supposed to lose." She reminded him with an eye roll, "It's a show that James is willing to fight for Dora. Memorize all the questions you're going to shout at him? Bill sort of forgot that part when you were dueling for me."

"No he didn't. I hit him with a charm so he couldn't do it, because I'd forgotten the answers." He grinned, letting her tuck the buttons. "Why are we letting them court again? Gin, she's so young."

"Pot calling kettle black." A tease, a touch of melancholy. "Is it fair to make them wait, Rob? Bill shouldn't have told James, just let him be like you were. He's been waiting for years, Dora too. All of her friends date at school and she feels left out, just letters and Hogsmeade weekends. Not that she wants to date anyone else, but it's got to be isolating for her. They'll be able to see each other a bit more now."

Ralph wasn't entirely sure he liked that idea either, Dora was a much younger sixteen than Ginny had been, but all the same he found a suitor in his study at bloody midnight on her birthday. He squeezed the wife he'd had to be tricked into courting, hand sliding down to what would likely be the last of their second clutch, feeling the little kick in response. "Bill thought it was kinder if he knew it was soulmates sooner than later. Bill and I didn't know and well we were spectacularly awful boyfriends. I still cringe thinking how callously I cut things off with the girl before you, in a complete mood because I'd just realized I had a crush on you."

"Tell that one to the boys, make sure they're less awful to their girls, even though I don't like most of them. You'll go easy on James? Dora's been begging for me to promise her."

"Thought you two asked him to go easy on me. Not like I can surprise him with non-verbal spells." He said it mildly and sat to set his wand harnesses. Maybe years ago it would have bothered him, when he was still figuring what it meant to be a dragon and a man mostly without magic, neither wizard, muggle or squib. A sigh, "Don't look like that, queen. I've got several legs up on young Auror Potter even if my magic swings your way. He's never been caught wandless in a duel in the middle of a war. Worse comes to worse I'll just shout things at him and you can do it from your secret perch."

She laughed scooting forward to lean across his back, hand running down the dueling robe and his queen's mood abruptly changed, a little frustrated roar and a glare at the clock. They'd always been a physical couple, but there was a window during pregnancy where his queen's amorous nature needed constant catering to. He got up, if he didn't now, she was going to make them late and their daughter was going to be furious.

She grabbed his waist anyway and he bent to give her a kiss on the forehead as he pulled her up. Her hands grazed, "What's in your pocket?"

"Gin, you're too-" He was going to complain about her joke, but she'd already reached in and pulled out an actual object.

A gleaming gold chain with an hourglass at the end. They stared at it in shock. "Where the bloody hell did that come from? Has it just, just been hanging out in my robes? Godric, could've been useful."

"Still can." Ginny's eyes had a gleam to them, "I think we should practice this plan of me helping you duel."

* * *

A/N: Reviews always adored, I am really struggling with the Bill and Hermione epilogue. I don't want to let go of them!


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